Everything To Know About Netflix’s That ’90s Show

That ’70s Show ran for eight seasons on Fox from 1998 to 2006 and launched the careers of several high-profile actors, including Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Topher Grace, Laura Prepon, and Wilmer Valderrama. Set in the late 1970s, the period comedy centered on six teenage friends living in fictional Point Place, Wisconsin, as they navigated high school, friendships, and young love, processing it all by smoking tons of marijuana. The beloved sitcom has received continuous fanfare thanks to its longtime availability on Netflix, though it left the platform in September 2021. However, the streaming service announced last year that a spinoff titled That ’90s Show is in the works, and, yes, several original cast members have already been confirmed to appear. Here’s everything to know about Netflix’s That ’90s Show, including its plot, cast, trailer, and release date.

Netflix’s That ’90s Show Release Date

That ‘90s show will premiere with 10 episodes on Jan. 19, 2023.

Netflix’s That ’90s Show Cast

Familiar faces will definitely be on That ’90s Show, as Rupp and Smith are reprising their roles as Kitty and Red in addition to executive producing the series. This time, the beloved onscreen couple will be keeping their eyes on their granddaughter, Leia.

Months after Rupp and Smith’s involvement was announced, Netflix finally revealed who will play the new group of teens. According to a Feb. 3 announcement from the platform, Callie Haverda (Shut Eye) will play newcomer Leia, who’ll be thrust into a new social group at Point Place. Ashley Aufderheide (Emergence) plays the rebellious Gwen, who also happens to be the unofficial local leader. Maxwell Acee Donovan (Gabby Duran & The Unsittables) plays Gwen’s friendly older brother, Nate. Important note: Nate also owns this series’ quintessential van.

Mace Coronel (Wireless) plays Jay, Nate’s BFF who’s “charming and flirty” and “armed with a video camera.” Netflix confirmed on Dec. 22 that Jay is, indeed, Jackie and Kelso’s son.

Sam Morelos (Extraordinary Night) plays Nikki, Nate’s driven girlfriend with a rebellious streak. Rounding out the gang is Ozzie, who is gay, “sarcastic,” “insightful,” and played by Reyn Doi (Side Hustle).

Some of the original cast members previously voiced hesitations about returning for any spinoff. In a 2016 interview with People, Valderrama said, “Fez will never happen again.” That same year, Kutcher told Entertainment Weekly, “That ’70s Show is a nostalgic show. I think it was nostalgic as it was being made, and now it’s nostalgic for a different reason. And I just don’t know that anything that we’re going to do that would be new would be better than what we did. And when you run that risk, I think it’s better to leave things alone.”

Sure enough, though, five of the original six teenagers at the heart of That ’70s Show have reached deals to appear on the follow-up series as guest stars, Variety reported on April 30. Grace and Prepon will return as Eric and Donna, Leia’s parents, while Kutcher, Kunis, and Valderrama will reprise their roles as the couple’s friends Kelso, Jackie, and Fez, respectively.

Danny Masterson, who played Hyde, will not return amid his ongoing legal issues. After That ’70s Show, Masterson went on to appear in films and television series, including Yes Man and Netflix’s The Ranch. In March 2017, four women accused Masterson of sexual assault, and a fifth woman made rape allegations in December 2017; he has denied all the accusations. In June 2020, he was charged in with raping three women in the early 2000s and pleaded not guilty. The criminal case is moving forward, and Masterson’s his first criminal trial is set for August.

There are two deceased That ’70s Show veterans whose characters will not appear in the series. Lisa Robin Kelly, who played Eric’s older sister Laurie in Seasons 1-3, left the series in 2001 due to issues with alcohol abuse. She briefly returned for four episodes in Season 5 but was later replaced by Christina Moore for Season 6. The actor died in her sleep at age 43 on Aug. 15, 2013, due to what The Los Angeles Department of Coroner later concluded was an accidental unspecified oral “multiple drug intoxication.”

Kitty’s best friend and Donna’s mother, Midge Pinciotti, was played by Tanya Roberts, also known from ABC’s Charlie’s Angels and the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill. When her husband, Barry Roberts, fell terminally ill in 2001, she exited That ’70s Show after Season 3. The actor returned to the series for guest appearances in Seasons 6 and 7 before officially retiring from acting in 2005. After experiencing illness due to her history of hepatitis C, Roberts died on Jan. 4, 2021, at 65 years old.

Netflix’s That ’90s Show Plot

On Nov. 29, Netflix released the full synopsis for That ‘90s Show:

It’s 1995 and Leia Forman is desperate for some adventure in her life or at least a best friend who isn’t her dad. When she arrives in Point Place to visit her grandparents, Red and Kitty, Leia finds what she’s looking for right next door when she meets the dynamic and rebellious Gwen. With the help of Gwen’s friends, including her lovable brother Nate, his smart, laser-focused girlfriend Nikki, the sarcastic and insightful Ozzie, and the charming Jay, Leia realizes adventure could happen there just like it did for her parents all those years ago. Excited to reinvent herself, she convinces her parents to let her stay for the summer. With a basement full of teens again, Kitty is happy the Forman house is now a home for a new generation and Red is, well...Red.

Netflix’s That ’90s Show Trailer

Netflix dropped the first teaser for That ‘90s Show on Nov. 29.

A full trailer followed on Dec. 22, featuring a closer look at the returning characters.

This post will be updated as more details about That ’90s Show become available.