Just in time for Christmas, Netflix has gifted us with the first footage of That ’90s Show, the upcoming revival of the popular Fox sitcom That ’70s Show, which ran from 1998 through 2006.
And although the new series will focus on Leia, the teenage daughter of Eric Forman (Topher Grace) and Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon) who is spending the summer with her grandparents Kitty and Red in Point Place, Wisconsin (Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith, also reprising their roles) — that doesn’t mean that some other familiar faces won’t be making appearances.
In addition to the Forman clan, the footage teases the triumphant return of Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) and Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis), who now appear to be married just like their real-life counterparts, despite Jackie falling in love with Fez in the final season of the predecessor series. And speaking of Fez, Wilmer Valderrama likewise makes his return as the ambiguously accented foreign exchange student, who now owns his very own chain of salons.
Even Leo (Tommy Chong) pops back up in the new footage, although his one-time employee Hyde (Danny Masterson) is nowhere to be found, and does not appear to be involved in the series for reasons that are quite evident.
But while Kitty is more than delighted to have a full house again after all these years, Red is decidedly less enthused about the return of the “dumbasses” in his golden years. “Don’t feed them, Kitty, that’s how it started the first time!” he harangues his positively thrilled wife, as she assembles a shopping list with “Fritos, Tostitos, Doritos … all the ‘itos.”
And it seems as though Leia and her new friends will be needing those ‘itos, after the gang finds a bag that her parents and their friends left stashed in the Forman basement a decade and a half prior.
That ’90s Show premieres on Netflix on Jan. 19, 2023.
