Saved by the Bell is back! The beloved television series and after-school staple is headed to Peacock according to The Hollywood Reporter. Mark-Paul Gosselaar closed the deal with the streaming platform as the series takes its act over to NBC‘s service. The Zack Morris actor will appear in three episodes and scored himself an executive producer credit on the project. THR’s sources also indicate that Universal Television’s producers are also efforting to get Tiffani-Amber Thiessen to reprise her role as Kelly in the new series. NBCUniversal gets another legacy program for its new platform.
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One reason Gosselaar can’t appear in more episodes is the fact that he’s got a series regular role on ABC’s Mixed-ish. Scheduling conflicts would make it hard to bop between the two projects. The standard operating procedure on these projects dictates that three episodes are the max. For those wondering if they would see Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley, they will be along for the ride as well. With A.C. Slater and Jessie Spano in tow, the adventures of a Zack Morris who is the sitting governor of California can begin. He’s in trouble for closing too many low-income high schools and needs a quick fix. His answer? Send some of the kids affected to some of the best schools in the state, which includes his alma mater Bayside High.
Back in September, Gosselaar said that conversations about the reboot hadn’t materialized yet. But, he was open to the idea then, and the creative team capitalized. Now, a bunch of the fans of the throwback show will be able to get a kick out of some of their favorite characters interact all the way in the year 2020. (If the Karate Kid continuation, Cobra Kai, has taught anyone anything, it’s that nostalgia is powerful.)
“I read it in the trades just like everybody else this morning,” Gosselaar joked. “Honestly, I was never approached. I haven’t been approached and I woke up to the news this morning with a ‘huh’ kind of response… I’ll allow them to talk first before I say, but yes, I’ve always been interested, yeah, of course.”
Josie Totah is in the lead role for the upcoming reboot. He character Lexi is described as, “a beautiful, sharp-tongued cheerleader and the most popular girl at Bayside High who is both admired and feared by her fellow students.” Great News creator Tracey Wigfield is helping develop this series.
