There once was a simpler time when preppies and jocks could hang with nerds, caffeine pills were the most dangerous drug on the market, and the high school principal was a totally uncreepy BFF goof in the cool kid clique. Those days of course only existed on the ‘80s/’90s kids sitcom relic, Saved by the Bell. But they’re about to live again in 2020’s Saved by the Bell reboot!
Scheduled to premiere on NBCUniversal’s new streaming service Peacock later this year, Saved by the Bell is the modern retelling of the fast times of life at Bayside High School, a trendy institution for the wealthy kids of the Pacific Pallisades, although this time it will be told from the point-of-view of several low-income students who are being transferred to the preppy locale. It also is set to feature the original series’ stars Mario Lopez as A.C. Slater and Elizabeth Berkley as Jessie Spano, reprising their roles. Those once iconic students are now the teachers for the next generation, and old school fans can expect at least one cameo for a few episodes from everyone’s favorite golden boy, Mark-Paul Gosselaar.
While there is no official release date for the new series, as the trailer says, it will be “streaming soon.” The show is obviously a major departure from the original Saved by the Bell in a few ways. One of the most notable is it takes after more modern sitcoms, which are filmed with a single camera on generally photorealistic sets, as opposed to before the classic four camera set-up on a stage in front of a live studio audience. So in that sense it appears to be more of a departure than other ‘90s kids reboots.
Indeed, there’s been a cottage industry as of late in bringing back beloved shows millennials grew up on for a new generation. Netflix saw major success with Fuller House, which doubled as a reunion for the original Full House cast (minus the Olsen twins), having the series last five seasons. Meanwhile the Disney Channel saw more limited success by rebooting Boy Meets World as Girl Meets World with Ben Savage’s Cory Matthews and Danielle Fishel’s Topanga having a daughter now learning the hard lessons of life. That show lasted three seasons.
Still, Saved by the Bell redux is marketed on hitting those nostalgia highs for older audiences while appealing to their children. Teachers still have goofy friendships with the students, and the whole trailer posits around the song “I’m So Excited,” which is in reference to one of Saved by the Bell’s most famous (and meme-d) episodes where Jessie ruins her girls pop group due to… well, she explains it pretty well at the end of the trailer.