The choices for new television series almost make it seem like it's the '90s all over again. With reboots of Full House and Roseanne popping up as options, it seems like every network wants to revive their most popular series from an era that seems to be going much longer than it ever lasted. The latest reboot will be the teen series Saved By The Bell, which followed the exploits of class clown Zack Morris, his best friend A.C. Slater, girlfriend Kelly Kapowski, and the rest of their gang at Bayside High School.
Saved By The Bell 2020 will see Bayside revisited by a new class of students who reflect the current times, both socially and economically. The original series still acts as a time capsule for its decade, and its reboot will no doubt serve a similar purpose, with plenty of new characters to love alongside old favorites.
ZACK MORRIS IS THE GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA
In an unlikely turn of events, preppy class clown Zack Morris is the Governor of California, whose choice to close several low-income public schools leads to the students needing to transfer to the more affluent Bay Side High.
It's unclear whether or not Morris will be in many episodes of the series, especially since it primarily takes place at Bayside High, but his son Mac Morris is enrolled at the school and if he's anything like Zack, his antics will attract his father's attention.
A.C. SLATER WILL BE THE GYM TEACHER
In a natural character progression, hot shot athlete A.C. Slater will appear at Bayside High as its gym teacher, who despite his position of impressionability with his students will continue to behave as the cocky overachiever he always is.
With Zack Morris being the Governor of California, it's unclear how much the two former best friends see of each other in the series, but given that Slater teaches Zack's son, there are certain to be a few classic Zack and Slater moments for the fans.
JESSE SPANO'S SON IS CAPTAIN OF THE FOOTBALL TEAM
Jesse Spano, the irrepressible feminist voice of Bayside who simultaneously dated its biggest jock and also demanded change in the way women were treated at her school returns as the mother of its newest football captain.
Despite being fully committed to his athletic pursuits, Jamie Spano appears a lot more in touch with his sensitive side than A.C. Slater thanks to Jesse's encouragement. It appears that this paradox will be played for laughs, with Jamie wrestling with Slater and his friends' opinions and his mother's messages.
ZACK AND KELLY ARE STILL MARRIED
At the conclusion of Saved By The Bell: The College Years, Zack Morris and Kelly Kapowski tied the knot, bringing closure to a long running on-again off-again relationship that fans hoped would somehow all work out.
Both Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Tiffani Thiessen will be returning as a married couple, with their son attending Bayside High and getting into the same hi-jinks as his father. Expect them to be reoccurring characters and not a part of every episode .
THE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS' CHILDREN ATTEND BAYSIDE HIGH
Unsurprisingly, several of the main characters' children attend Bayside High, but bizarrely all fall into the same social patterns as their parents. Jesse Spano's son fills the role of the new AC Slater, constantly competing with Zack Morris's son Mac, who assumes all of his father's traits.
Curiously, their offspring not only act like them, but also look like them, as though the entire student body at Bayside decided that the '90s were in again.
SCREECH WON'T BE RETURNING
Dustin Diamond who played Screech in not only Saved By The Bell but every sequel and spin-off it's ever had, wasn't asked to return to play everyone's favorite high-pitched nerd.
Diamond wrote a tell-all book with a ghost writer that aired all of the cast's dirty laundry, and inspired the film The Unauthorized Saved By The Bell Story, depicting the debauchery that went on behind-the-scenes of filming the original series. The main cast has denied Diamond's anecdotes as libel.
LISA TURTLE WASN'T INVITED BACK
Everyone's favorite fashionista Lisa Turtle won't be turning heads in any more amazing outfits in the reboot, due to some personal complications in the life of actress Lark Voorhies.
After Saved By The Bell Voorhies experienced some problems concerning her mental health, which she's been actively seeking professional help for. She's expressed disappointment in not being approached to return for the reboot.
MR. BELDING WAS REPLACED
As the principal, Mr. Belding was always the foil to the students of Bayside, though as the years went by he took on a less authoritarian role and more of an avuncular one. In the reboot, he's been replaced by Principal Toddman as the head of Bayside High.
Toddman will be played by John Michael Higgins, a comedic actor known for ensemble films like Best In Show. From the official trailer, he looks to be just as hapless as Mr. Belding, who never quite wizened up to the fact that his students ran the school.
THEY'RE MORE DIVERSE
To anyone wondering whether or not the main characters will be clones of the students from the original series, the reboot offers quite a bit of variation and diversity, something the original cast wasn't exactly known for.
New characters like Lexi, an acid-tongued transgender cheerleader (played by the series' first transgender actress) mark a significant moment for progress on a show that was known for having a few token characters of color.
THEY'RE MORE INCLUSIVE
Even in the original series, Bayside High was considered a wealthy school full of students that came from mostly white upper middle class families. By including characters like Daisy (Haskiri Velazquez), a new student who's excited at the prospect of attending Bayside after her school gets shut down, issues of classism can be addressed.
By mixing low-income students with the elite students at Bayside, there are opportunities for much richer storylines that incorporate the trials and tribulations of a student body from all walks of life.