WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for That '90s Show season 1.

While That '90s Show features the hoary old Girlfriend In Canada storyline, That '70s Show's spinoff does manage to update and subvert this classic trope. In the decades since Jan Brady famously claimed to have a secret boyfriend named George Glass, almost every sitcom hero has mentioned a girlfriend in Canada at some point or another. This familiar trope has appeared in all manner of sitcoms as characters who are romantically challenged fail to convince their skeptical friends that they found love with an unseen paramour who conveniently lives far, far away.

Proving that the spinoff can update sitcom clichés while still playing with them, That '70s Show's spinoff That '90s Show revived this classic gag with a contemporary twist. In That '90s Show season 1, episode 3, “Lip Smackers,” the spinoff’s heroine complained that she had never been kissed and casually presumed that her LGBTQ+ friend Ozzie is in the same boat. An offended Ozzie clarified that he actually already had a boyfriend, only for his friends to roll their eyes and note that none of them met this “Etienne,” Ozzie’s potentially fictitious partner from Canada.

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Ozzie’s Etienne Romance Refreshes A Sitcom Trope

That 90s Show Ozzie Popsicle

None of the central friend group had met Ozzie’s possibly imaginary love interest, allowing That '90s Show season 1 to take a tired sitcom staple and give the gag new life. While there are dozens of examples of sitcom heroes trying to convince their friends that their girlfriend in Canada is real, Ozzie’s unseen Etienne might be the first instance of a gay character trying to prove that his boyfriend from Canada does exist. But, of course, since the world of sitcoms never changes too much, Ozzie is unsuccessful in this endeavor, and the episode ends with his friends remaining suspicious.

How That 90s Show Subverts This Classic Gag

That 90s Show Season 1 Ending Leia Kitty Red Nate Gwen Jay Ozzie Nikki

However, in the closing moments of “Lip Smackers,” That '90s Show doubly subverts this ancient gag. Not only does Ozzie have a boyfriend in Canada rather than a girlfriend, but his love interest also turns out to be real. This twist has been done before (memorably, Stranger Things season 3’s funniest scene relied on the revelation that serial bluffer Dustin wasn’t lying about his summer camp love). However, in the episode’s closing scene, it turns out via a phone call in French that Etienne is not only real, but his friends also don’t believe that Ozzie exists, so he is stuck in the same setup.

This That '90s Show gag manages to not only update a classic sitcom trope to make the gag more inclusive but also subverts viewers' expectations by offering a new punchline to a setup viewers have seen countless times before. While the spinoff isn’t perfect, this sequence proves That '90s Show is a strong follow-up to its predecessor. The limited roles of That '70s Show’s returning cast make the show’s new characters more impactful, while the sharp writing proves the series has something fresh to offer. If the rest of That '90s Show can live up to this classic bit, the That '70s Show follow-up will be a worthy successor to the original series.

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