Before playing Jessie, Elizabeth Berkley almost landed another Saved by the Bell role. While Berkley has had a bit of an up and down career since her days at Bayside High, like most of Saved by the Bell's stars, she's never really been at a loss for work. That's a testament to just how much the NBC series resonated with its teen and tween target audience, and not just when it originally aired, but through decades of reruns on cable channels like TBS.
Saved by the Bell certainly wasn't a realistic look at high school life, but what it often provided was a more ideal teenage experience, the one so many wished they were actually having. While arguable jerk Zack Morris and the gang faced adversity on occasion, they'd almost always come out on top with little lost along the way, and be back next episode to get up to more rarely too serious shenanigans. There's nothing wrong with escapist, popcorn entertainment, and Saved by the Bell was that in droves for many.
A big part, if not the biggest reason Saved by the Bell worked was of course its main cast, with each of the six principal stars becoming a vital piece of the ensemble. This very much included Berkley's Jessie, who despite her feminist beliefs and penchant for social activism at Bayside was still a teenager at the end of the day, and still wanted to have fun and find romance. Berkley can now be seen back in her signature role on Peacock's Saved by the Bell revival, and fans are loving seeing her reprise Jessie. Yet, Berkley originally auditioned for the role of Kelly Kapowski, and furthermore, nearly got hired for the gig.
Elizabeth Berkley had actually auditioned to play a love interest for Zack Morris on Saved by the Bell's short-lived precursor Good Morning, Miss Bliss. At the time, she was taller than Zack actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar to a distracting degree, so she didn't get the part. Tiffani Thiessen also auditioned for, but didn't get, a role on Good Morning, Miss Bliss. Considering how most of the cast got jettisoned during the transition to Saved by the Bell, it's probably for the best that they didn't get cast in hindsight. When casting for the role of Kelly Kapowski, there ended up being three finalists, those being Thiessen, Berkley, and future Kelly Taylor on Beverly Hills, 90210 Jennie Garth. That's a bit funny looking back, since Thiessen would later join Garth as part of 90210's cast. Garth was then eliminated, leaving Thiessen and Berkley.
Saved by the Bell boss Peter Engel strongly believed Thiessen was the right choice, and pushed hard for her casting, even though Berkley was the more experienced actress. Engel got his way, but NBC wasn't keen on letting Berkley go, and so she was offered the part of Jessie Spano. Jessie had been in the plans all along but was portrayed differently, and the role ended up being rewritten to specifically fit Berkley. In the end, things worked out for the best. Both Thiessen and Berkley landed the roles that made their careers and Saved by the Bell ended up with two iconic characters. At least until Kelly and Jessie were replaced by Tori Scott. Still, it's fun to imagine exactly how Kelly might've been changed had Berkley gotten the role.