With That ‘70s Show having concluded nearly 17 years ago, now’s a good time to reflect on what made it such a successful sitcom and figure out how its sequel series can succeed on its own merits. After all, That ‘70s Show aired for 8 seasons (200 episodes overall), and the past can be a great teacher. Hopefully, That ‘90s Show can take a lesson or two from its predecessor, so it doesn’t end up like many failed reboots do: losing what made the original special while attempting to stand entirely on callbacks to its source material.
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Have Plenty of Heart
If there’s one thing That ‘70s Show did well, it was mixing its humor with some heart. The show wasn’t afraid to get emotional when it needed to. Eric (Topher Grace) and Donna’s (Laura Prepon) break up in season 3 is a perfect example: it made sense for the characters and relied entirely on Grace and Prepon’s earnest performances. There was no humor present when the two called it quits. The audience was simply presented with a frank look at teenage heartbreak and the loss of first love. The show tackled the joys of adolescence, but it also strived to show how difficult those years could be, too. Its nostalgia isn’t limited to the happy moments.
That ‘90s Show hasn’t revealed much about its characters just yet. It’s known that Leia (Callie Haverda) is Eric and Donna’s daughter and that she’ll be coming to stay with her grandparents in Point Place for the summer. Her new gang of friends will include Gwen (Ashley Aufderheide), a rebellious girl, her easygoing brother Nate (Maxwell Acee Donovan), Jay (Mace Coronel), a flirty aspiring videographer, Ozzie (Reyn Doi), a perceptive and openly gay teen, and Nikki (Sam Morelos), who is Nate’s intelligent girlfriend.
The first trailer for That ‘90s Show focused mostly on Red (Kurtwood Smith) and Kitty Forman (Debra Jo Rupp), and showed off some of Leia’s personality (she is very much her father’s daughter), but didn’t reveal much about Leia’s group of friends. Will Ozzie find it difficult to be gay in ‘90s small town America? How will Nikki and Nate’s relationship develop? How does Leia feel about her parents having her so young, now that she’s basically the same age they were when they had her? How do Red and Kitty feel about this new generation of kids, and how have they been holding up as empty-nesters?
There’s plenty of emotional material to cover. The character development in That ‘70s Show was something that worked surprisingly well for a sitcom from that era. Hopefully That ‘90s Show can be just as great in that department.
Make Sure to Have Memorable Comedy
That ‘70s Show had a fun cast of characters that played off of each other spectacularly. Much of its comedy came from knowing the characters so well; having these fully-realized characters allowed the writers to play into the situational comedy of the show. Drop the gang in a situation (any situation, it doesn’t even need to be the most absurd) and see how they deal with it. How does the gang react when Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) pulls a classic move over on everyone as he takes them out to dinner, only to tell them they’re going to have to pull off a dine and dash?
Sure, there were plenty of gags that relied on the context of a scene to work (like the show’s signature cutaway gags), but a lot of the comedy came from the characters being who they were. Fez (Wilmer Valderrame) was lustful and a bit off-putting, Jackie was vain and slightly naive, Donna was staunch and headstrong, Hyde was anti-authority ne’er-do-well, Kelso a lovable yet dim goofball, and Eric was a nerdy teen learning to take charge and grow a backbone. That ‘90s Show is going to have to put in the work to make its cast just as memorable and fully realized so that the comedy can come close to what That ‘70s Show featured.
Use the Old Characters Well
Red and Kitty are unquestionably going to be a big part of this new series. It’s also known that every member of the original cast will be brought back for That ‘90s Show (sans Danny Masterson). Season 8 of That ‘70s Show was infamous for using the characters poorly: character arcs and storylines were thrown out the window in an attempt to find fresh footing following Topher Grace’s exit from the show.
That ‘90s Show should respect its original characters and make sure to stay true to their original characterizations, while also allowing for some growth off-screen. Mila Kunis recently revealed that Jackie and Kelso ended up together in the interim between both shows. The two were separated for the last four seasons of the original show, having seemingly grown apart. It can easily be implied (and believed) that the two found their way back to each other, however.
Eric and Donna, in particular, have a lot of character development the show should respect. As mentioned previously, the two had a romantic relationship that spanned the whole series - it was practically the backbone of That ‘70s Show. They weren’t without struggles, and, again, they did often argue about their future. Donna did not want to settle down so young, and was about to go off to college in the series finale. The two even had a pregnancy scare storyline in the later seasons, and they justifiably agreed they weren’t ready for that just yet. Now, it’s clear that Donna became pregnant shortly after that, and that angle (and Donna’s feelings) should be explored - even if at a later point.
A Tribute to Old Friends
That ‘70s Show had an excellent ensemble cast of characters. Two of these cast members, unfortunately, are no longer alive. Tanya Roberts, who played Donna’s mother Midge for several seasons in the original series, passed away in 2021. Lisa Robin Kelly, who played Eric’s vivacious and adversarial sister Laurie, passed away in 2013.
Both characters were vital parts of That ‘70s Show. They were both phased out in later seasons, but weren’t ever forgotten - frequently, they were referenced by the other characters as being in another state, living their lives. Hopefully, the same could be true for their characters on That ‘90s Show. The writers don’t need to write their passings into the show, but a briefly mentioned happy ending for both of them would be a nice gesture - and tribute - towards the late actresses.
Implement the ‘90s the Right Way
Ideally, That ‘90s Show should use the setting to its fullest. From the trailer, the Forman residence looks to be trapped in the ‘70s, and that’s a fine way to keep that era linked into the show, but the rest of the series should be firmly inspired by the year of 1995 and have plenty of that ’90s vibe.
Where the original series took on disco, rollerblading, and mustard tones, That ‘90s Show should feature grunge, skateboarding, and neon. The ‘70s were a very distinct era, and the ‘90s was as different from that era as 2023 is from 2003. Hippies had given way to yuppies, neoliberalism was the name of the game, and DARE was in full swing.
While the characters in That ‘70s Show embodied early Gen Xers, That ‘90s Show features a cast of early Millennials. The two generations are incredibly different, and that contrast can provide plenty of comedic fodder (if Red thought the ‘70s were too radical, what will he think of the ‘90s?).
Don’t Have Too Many Callbacks
This is one thing That ‘90s Show absolutely needs to avoid. The original cast of That ’70s Show basically all returning, including Tommy Chong as Leo, but that should be the furthest extent of most of the callbacks. The Forman residence should be the where the references to the ‘70s are confined - and the trailer does feature a few gags about the gang discovering some old paraphernalia lying around in the basement.
The show needs to stand on its own two legs. It can’t be a successful series in its own right if it continually reminds audiences about the old show. Otherwise, it’s just going to invite unflattering comparisons. Let the new generation do its own thing. It’ll be nice to see the old characters again, but if the only thing worth watching is their scenes, then the show won’t be able to get off the ground.
Time will tell how That ’90s Show fares. Its first trailer already made a splash on social media. The ’90s are en vogue. It definitely looks like That ’90s Show is in a perfect place to do well with its viewership numbers, but can its content stand on its own? Netflix is trying to find new series to fill the Stranger Things-shaped hole in its content. In order to do that, it’ll have to get viewers to stick around for more than a few episodes. Nostalgia can only get a brand so far.
That ’90s Show premieres on Netflix on January 19, 2023.
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