The Saved by the Bell reboot dropped on Peacock back in November and it’s been getting a whole lot of love from fans of the original as well as series newcomers. In honor of the new show, ComicBook.com recently had the chance to chat with Dexter Darden (Devante Young), Mitchell Hoog (Mac Morris), Haskiri Velazquez (Daisy Jimรฉnez), and Belmont Cameli (Jamie Spano). This week, our full interviews with Darden and Hoog went live, and next up is Velazquez. The young star spoke to us about the importance of Latinx representation and her hopes for a potential second season.
THE ORIGINAL
ComicBook.com: I have to ask if you grew up watching the original show.
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Haskiri Velazquez: Yeah, I did. I grew up watching Saved By the Bell. You know, my parents actually watched it more than I did, but we lived in a one TV household. So whatever my dad watched is what we watched. So it was either the history channel, which we prayed that was never on, or Saved By the Bell. And when that was on, he was like, ‘Okay, this is what I’m going to watch.’ And we were like, ‘Yes please put this on.’ So we enjoyed watching it. I grew up watching it and when I got the audition, I brushed up a little bit on my Saved By the Bell, just to get the tone of the show to understand where they left off.
CB: Is there anything or anyone from the original series you’d like to see show up in future episodes?
HV: You know who I would love to see more of would be Lisa Turtle. I would love for her to do some more cameos in Season Two. I think she was just such a fashionista. Maybe, hello showrunners, maybe we can do where she comes in and he gives all of us a fashion makeover, I’m here for it. I’ll take that.
CB: You did get to work with a lot of the original cast. Did any of them have words of wisdom or advice for you?
HV: Yeah, I really had a lot of scenes with my cast, the newer generation, but I had a few scenes with Mario [Lopez] and a few scenes with Elizabeth [Berkley] and the scenes that I did have were pretty short and quick. But the moment I walked on set and I saw them there, they were so welcoming. They told me if there’s ever anything you need help with, any advice, we’re always here to help. And I think that was just so lovely for them to do because this was their show, their baby, they created this whole entire Saved By the Bell world. So to allow us to come in and make it our own was just… They created a space where I felt safe and welcomed, and I truly appreciated that.
SEASON TWO
CB: In terms of Daisy, is there anything that you’d like to see her go through in future seasons?
HV: Oh, that’s a good question. No one has ever asked me that. Well, I think I want Daisy to maybe have… I don’t know if I want her to have a love interest but I think it’ll be cool for her to maybe have a little crush or something. But I think that I’m still in love with the fact that she’s so focused on herself and her future that I think I want to see more of that. I want to see where Daisy can take her future and how she can keep inspiring the Bayside kids and how she’s able to switch the school around. So I definitely want to dive in a little more to that for sure.
CB: Mitchell [Hoog] told me that he saw a Daisy/Mac fan cam. Sounds like you’re not to the point of shipping them as a possible end game?
HV: Maybe if there’s a Season Two, like the last episode to lead people on a cliffhanger for wanting more. We can’t give it to them so quick. We’ve got to tease them a little bit.
CB: Can you tell me, are you team Jamie and Aisha or team Jamie and Lexi?
HV: Oh my gosh, team Jamie and Aisha. But I love them all.
LATINX REPRESENTATION
CB: The show doesn’t shy away from social issues. Did that draw you to the project?
HV: Oh yeah, for sure. I can relate to Daisy’s character so much. She comes from a low-income household, she has a brother that she has to take care of, that she has to consider. And her mom is working all the hours of the day. I had parents who worked crazy hours of the day. My dad, until this day, wakes up at 4:00 AM then gets home about 7:00 PM just to provide. So, I grew up in a sense of every time I made a decision or wanted to do something, I always had them in the back of my mind because I never did anything for myself. If anything, I did everything if it was going to benefit us in a good way. I can definitely relate to Daisy’s character and I think seeing how she’s constantly striving and constantly working to prove her worth is also something I related to.
When I first read the breakdown, I was like, “Oh my gosh this is me.” When I read Daisy’s character, I said, “Who is writing about my life,” in a sense. I related to her so much, especially for being a young Latina. I never saw this kind of representation on TV. And I think it’s such a beautiful way to bring that kind of representation to a broad audience.
Saved by the Bell has such a great fan base in so many areas and places in the world that it’s so beautiful for them to even consider a Latina that has the Zack Morris powers; to show a Latina in the light being smart, ambitious of wanting more for herself, and changing the school for the better.
So I think when I came across this project, I was so drawn by her because I can relate to her so much. I knew that so many other young, Latinx girls were going to be able to relate to Daisy. So yeah, definitely when I read it I was like, “Okay, this is a project I will love to bring to life.”
CB: I’ve read how important Latinx representation is to you. I think that more reboots would benefit from taking the Saved By the Bell route and giving more people a voice. Are there any other older series or franchises that you would personally like to see that happen with?
HV: Oh, that’s good. I think Superstore does a great job at it because they have America Ferrera as running this whole Superstore. It’s funny because I was an actor so you definitely have to be watching a lot of TV shows, but I think that TV shows that are happening in today’s day and age are what I’m actually really watching. I think they’re doing such a great job that having a diverse past, creating stories that are so relatable to today’s day and age. I think if someone ever decides to do a remake or reimagined version that they definitely have to take into consideration that it’s so important to create stories that are relatable to everyone, the everyday people, because these are the people who are going to watch the show.
We want them to resonate with them, you want them to keep wanting more to share these stories and not to focus on the failures so much, but to show the fact that they can overcome these obstacles. Because you want people to be inspired off of a show, and I think that’s what Saved By the Bell did. You see their downfalls, but then you see how they overcome and all the triumphs that they go through.
CB: Since we’re ComicBook.com, I ask everybody if there are any comic book franchises that you personally would like to be a part of or any superheroes that you would want to play one day?
HV: Well, I know that they’re trying to create this new Latinx superhero. Her name is Yara Flor, if I’m not mistaken, and I actually have her as my screensaver. I would love to maybe bring a superhero like that to life. First of all, her costume is just badass. Who wouldn’t want to be seeing something like that? I hear that there’s some kind of, in the DC comic world, that they’re trying to bring this Latinx superhero to the screen with live-action. So I’d love to audition for them and see where she goes.
