Thought the 1990's classic American sitcom Saved by the Bell was done and dusted? Think again.
It’s back and the new trailer is now here.
First announced in September 2019, television network NBC is revisiting Bayside High to bring back the characters of Zack Morris (played by Mark-Paul Gosselaar), Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani Thiessen), AC Slater (played by Mario Lopez), and actor Dustin Neil Diamond as Samuel 'Screech' Powers to see where they are now.
The original series followed the four characters as they dealt with the growing pains of high school life, college and early adulthood, and ran from 1989 to 1993.
Despite already having already had two spin-off series (Saved by the Bell: The College Years, and Saved by the Bell: The New Class) plus two films, (Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style, and Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas), it seems the network is hoping a new generation of audience is ready to be entranced with the franchise.
The new series picks up the story once more, now almost thirty years later and with the original cast. Morris is now the governor of California, while Slater is the gym teacher at Bayside High, teaching the son of Zack and Kelly.
The trailer opens with a gratuitous shot of the older AC in a football stadium, followed by high school kids chanting "Bayside", before Kelly and AC reminisce over their own great times at the school.
The series has seemingly been brought into 2020 with Justin Bieber references, iPads being used to check books out of the library, and AC discussing the fact that he once dated two of the student's mothers.
Saved by the Bell attempts to acknowledge its own history with wise cracks about how long ago the original series was, and even throws in a few groan worthy-shots such as Bieber being "old". Fans of the original will enjoy the saunter down memory lane, while a new audience can start afresh with the second generation of actors.
Other than that, not much is given away by the one-minute long trailer. However, its official synopsis below describes the reboot as: “California Governor Zack Morris gets into hot water for closing too many low-income high schools, he proposes they send the affected students to the highest-performing schools in the state—including Bayside High. The influx of new students gives the overprivileged Bayside kids a much needed and hilarious dose of reality.”
This is not the only reboot about to hit our television screens, with Gossip Girl, Charmed and perhaps even Lizzie McGuire all slated to return in some form this year. Quite how all will fare remains to be seen.
Saved by the Bell will be available on NBC's new streaming service, Peacock, which launches this year.
