The first season of That ’90s Show, the new stoner sitcom inspired by the hugely popular That ’70s Show, dropped on Netflix on January 19, introducing viewers to the teen offspring of the original cast for more coming-of-age laughs and love stories. The show opened with Leia, the daughter of Eric (Topher Grace) and Donna (Laura Prepon) moving into the famous basement of her grandparents, Red (Kurtwood Smith) and Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp), and forging friendships with Gwen, Jay, Ozzie, Nikki, and Nate.
A healthy dose of ’70s-and’90s-by-way-of-the-early-’00s nostalgia meant that this return to Point Place, Wisconsin had plenty of viewer appeal, but for a show to stand on its own too feet, it needs to prove that the new characters and stories have longevity.
Will there be a Season 2 of That ’90s Show?
Netflix has not yet announced whether That ’90s Show will be renewed for a second season, and its current trend of canceling seemingly popular shows makes its future uncertain. However, this single-setting sitcom is pretty cheap to make compared to a lot of the streaming platform’s ongoing series, which might work in its favor, as will the nostalgia for its predecessor. There is also a good example out there already of a follow-up to a popular sitcom thriving on Netflix; Fuller House, the sequel series to Full House, ended up running for five seasons.
If Netflix does decide to go ahead with a second season, then we can expect Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp to return as legacy characters Red and Kitty, as well as the new cast: Callie Haverda as Leia, Ashley Aufderheide as Gwen, Mace Coronel as Jay, Reyn Doi as Ozzie, Sam Morelos as Nikki, and Maxwell Acee Donovan as Nate.
It’s also possible that the cast of That ’70s Show, including Topher Grace, Laura Prepon, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher and Wilmer Vanderrama, will make more cameo appearances, after showing up in Season 1 as the parents of the new generation of characters.
Haverda has already spoken about how she envisions her character evolving in an as-yet-hypothetical Season 2, telling Decider: “People definitely grow. She grew over just the summer so I think over this next year, she’ll be craving to go back to Point Place, but she’ll also be kind of finding herself. I think she’ll kind of move out of her comfort zone with the things that Gwen taught her and we’ll probably see her come back as a more confident person as more like, sure of herself. She’s probably done even more new experiences, met new people while she was gone. Yeah, I’m really excited to see what happens with her, when she comes back.”
Philip Ellis is a freelance writer and journalist from the United Kingdom covering pop culture, relationships and LGBTQ+ issues. His work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV.
