Someone had to tell them. Tiffani Thiessen said she and Mark-Paul Gosselaar had no idea the Saved by the Bell reboot was happening.
The Beverly Hills, 90210 alum, 45, told Us Weekly exclusively on Wednesday, October 2, that she and her former Saved by the Bell costar, also 45, were unaware that a remake of the ‘90s sitcom was in the works before NBC officially announced the reboot in September.
“I don’t know anything about it,” she said. “Literally, Mark-Paul and I were like, ‘Oh, wow! I didn’t know that was happening.’ But it seems like everyone is doing a reboot, these days. It’s, like, popular, I guess.”
Though the Pull Up a Chair author isn’t opposed to reboots of TV shows, she admits that she prefers the classics.
“I’m a girl that likes the originals. But that’s me, though. I’m nostalgic that way,” she said. “But I’m sure people are going to be excited about it. It seems almost popular to redo a show.”
As for if she and Gosselaar will guest star on the spinoff, the White Collar alum said that a cameo is unlikely due to the actors’ busy schedules with their own shows. Thiessen currently stars on Netflix’s Alexa & Katie, while her former costar is a cast member on FOX’s The Passage and ABC’s Mixed-ish.
“Mark-Paul and I both have different shows. We’re not a part of it. It has nothing to do with us,” she said.
The You’re Missing It! author also doesn’t expect her daughter, Harper, who she shares with husband Brady Smith along with son Holt, 4, to tune into the reboot, given the 9-year-old’s opinion of the original Saved by the Bell.
“Harper has seen a couple episodes. But it didn’t catch her attention,” Thiessen said. “I think she laughed more at me than really falling in love with the concept of the show. She would much rather watch Alexa & Katie.”
Saved by the Bell ran on NBC for four seasons from 1989 to 1993. Thiessen played cheerleader Kelly Kapowski in the series, while Gosselaar played the show’s main character, Zack Morris. In September, NBC announced that the series will be rebooted as a show on the network’s new streaming service, Peacock. The show is confirmed to include original cast members Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez.
In August 2018, a little over a year before the reboot was officially announced, Gosselaar expressed his interest in reprising his Saved by the Bell character.
“I’d like to see a version that was worth everyone’s time,” he said at the 2018 Television Critic Association’s summer press tour. “But I’d like to see a version, yeah, I’d like to see a version that we’d all agree on.”
For more with Thiessen, watch the video above.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
