Almost a quarter of a century after the premiere of That show from the 70sone of the sitcoms of the late nineties and mid-2000s most loved by the public, Netflix premieres its long-awaited spin-off sequel this Thursday, That show from the 90s.
The stars of the original series will have special appearances in this new ten-episode story centered around Leia Forman (played by Callie Haverda), the daughter of Eric Forman and Donna Pinciotti, the lead couple who starred Topher Grace and Laura Prepon.
The fifteen-year-old teenager – named after the princess of Star Wars– returns to Point Place, the fictional Wisconsin town where his parents grew up, visit his grandparents, Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) and Red (Kurtwood Smith), during the summer of 1995.
Rupp, now 71, and Smith, now 79, they are the only original protagonists who will also be recurring in the new series, as well as being executive producers of the now Netflix fiction.
This week, the platform unveiled the new trailer, which shows Eric’s parents sitting comfortably in their home in Wisconsin, remodeled appropriately for the era and welcoming Leia and her new friends.
The same spirit, twenty years later
Netflix’s sequel series will keep the spirit of its predecessor and the style of multi-camera sitcoms of the era – not so fashionable since the explosion of stream-, done in the studio and with recorded laughter.
The spin-off featured the return of the creators of the original series, Bonnie Turner and her husband Terry Turner, as writers and producers with their daughter Lindsey. The producer of That show from the 70sGregg Mettler, it’s now the showrunner.
A couple of weeks ago, the Turners and Mettlers advanced part of the brand new lot, which will also have the Forman house – especially the basement – as the central setting.
As soon as she arrives, Leia meets her grandparents’ neighbor, named Gwen (Ashley Aufderheide) after Gwen Stefani, and introduces her to her inner circle: Nate (Maxwell Acee Donovan), his girlfriend Nikki (Samantha Morelos), and their friends Ozzie ( Reyn Doi) and Jay (Colonel Mace).
“Sex, drugs and rock never die, they just change their clothes”says Netflix’s official synopsis, hinting at this the themes that challenge these teenagers are the same compared to those of the previous series.
The original band consists of actors Topher Grace (Eric), Laura Prepon (Donna, who directs two of the sequel episodes), Ashton Kutcher (Kelso), Mila Kunis (Jackie), and Wilmer Valderrama (Fez). they will return to That show from the 90s with those same characters as special guests.
The only one of the cast left out of production is Danny Mastersonwho is about to face a new trial for rape allegations against three women between 2001 and 2003.
What did the creators expect?
Each season will only take place during the summer, like Leia will travel to Point Place to see her grandparents while there is no school. The Terries admitted that they like the idea of starting each new installment with a facelift for these teenagers.
“They change physically, they change emotionally, their lives have changed, their goals have changed,” says Bonnie Turner: “It was a great context for the story.”
“Doing it yourself for the summer takes you out of school and out of classes, which we found out in the original series wasn’t cool. The basement was more interestingadds her husband Terry.
Second Variety, Netflix offered the Turners the idea of a sequel at the start of the pandemic. But at the time they refused. A few months later they had second thoughts and contacted Mettler to think about how to approach the continuation of this story.
Lindsay Turner, the daughter who joined the creation team of That show from the 90s, revealed what those first talks were like. “We all agreed that we wouldn’t do it if we didn’t find a reason,” she began.
“And what Greg said he loved, and I know Mom and Dad loved him too, is this the 90s were the last years people looked up, not down at their cell phones. It was the last place where there was real engagement, where you had to find your own enjoyment and where you could really connect with others,” Lindsay added.
What was the original series like?
That show from the 70s aired on Fox on August 23, 1998. The fiction aired for eight seasons and produced a total of 200 episodes. The Last Chapter aired on May 18, 2006.
With lots of humor, sarcasm and aciditymuch of the storyline took place in the basement of Eric Forman’s parents (Grace), who along with his girlfriend Donna (Prepon) and their friends Jackie (Kunis), Kelso (Kutcher), Hyde (Masterson) and Fez (Valderrama ) ), fully experience the 70s: listening to disco music, having “guilt-free” sex, and smoking weed.
the sitcom It was a complete success for the public of the moment.with a proposal that was humorous with the problems and social movements of the time, a decade crossed by the consequences of the US economic recession, by distrust in the political system and the experimentation and sexual liberation of youth.
the sitcom became one of Fox’s banners -here it was broadcast by Sony Channel-, and at the time it was a fixture when it comes to being nominated for awards like the Emmys and the Teen Choice Awards.
While it was on the air, it was also released That show from the 80s -between January and May 2002-, with which he tried to consolidate his followers through a similar structure and style, even with the participation of screenwriters from the original, although it had no narrative relationship with its predecessor and lasted only one season after gaining a mediocre reception from critics and audiences.
Source: Clarin
