That '90s Show


That '90s Show is an American teen sitcom that serves as the sequel to That '70s Show. Set during the summers of 1995 and 1996, featuring characters and locales that debuted in its predecessor, it debuted on Netflix on January 19, 2023. In February 2023, the series was renewed for a second season, with the first part of the season released on June 27, 2024, and the second part released on August 22, 2024. In October 2024, the series was canceled after an extended second season, though Kurtwood Smith confirmed that the show will potentially be shopped to other streaming platforms.

Premise

The show centers on Leia Forman, the teenage daughter of Eric Forman and Donna Pinciotti, forming bonds with other teenagers as she spends the summer of 1995 with her grandparents Red and Kitty in Point Place, Wisconsin.

Cast

Main

Season 1 (2023)

Season 2 (2024)

Production

That '70s Show aired on Fox from 1998 to 2006, centering around the lives of teenagers from 1976 to 1979. The show garnered additional popularity after its conclusion due to its availability on Netflix, before leaving the platform in September 2020.
In October 2021, Netflix announced a spin-off of the series, titled That '90s Show, with Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp reprising their roles as Red and Kitty Forman, respectively. The show is produced by The Carsey-Werner Company, with Gregg Mettler serving as showrunner and Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner, their daughter Lindsay Turner, Marcy Carsey, Tom Werner, Smith and Rupp as executive producers.
Ten episodes were ordered, with the series taking on a multi-cam format like the original. The show was filmed in front of a live studio audience at Old [Warner Brothers Studio|Sunset Bronson Studios] in Los Angeles from February 7 to July 21, 2022.
In February 2022, Callie Haverda, Ashley Aufderheide, Mace Coronel, Maxwell Acee Donovan, Reyn Doi and Sam Morelos joined the cast as series regulars. It was also reported that Topher Grace, Laura Prepon, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher and Wilmer Valderrama would appear in recurring roles. Danny Masterson, who had a pending criminal trial at that time, did not appear as his character of Steven Hyde, who was simply not mentioned in the series; Masterson was convicted of rape in May 2023 and sentenced to thirty years in prison. Production commenced February 6. On April 30, 2022, it was announced that Grace, Prepon, Kunis, Kutcher and Valderrama would all return for guest appearances. On February 3, 2023, Netflix renewed the series for a 16-episode second season.
Filming on the second season was due to take place between May and September 2023, but it was delayed due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes.
On October 3, 2024, it was announced that the series was canceled after two seasons.

Release

The first season of That '90s Show released onto Netflix on January 19, 2023. The second season was divided into two parts, with the first eight episodes having been released on June 27, 2024, and another eight episodes being released on August 22, 2024 after it was originally set to be released on October 24. The first half of the episodes of season 2 have been released as "Part 2"; the second half was released as "Part 3" of the show.

Reception

Audience viewership

During its debut week, That '90s Show ranked at number five on Netflix's Top 10 TV English titles just three days after its release with 41.08 million hours viewed. The following week, the series reached number four and garnered 26.25 million viewing hours.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 75% with an average rating of 6.4/10, based on 52 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "A solidly serviceable sequel series, That '90s Show may take a little time to find its rhythm, but still delivers a respectable number of warmly nostalgic laughs." Metacritic assigned a score of 58 out of 100 based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
The Hollywood Reporter Angie Han wrote: " aims for nothing much more ambitious than re-creating the low-key charm of its predecessor. But it hits that target with enough confidence and consistency to become a treat in its own right." Steve Greene, writing for IndieWire, viewed it "better than it any right to be," praising the new cast's "easy" chemistry and the performances of Smith and Rupp. Brian Lowry of CNN dubbed it "high in nostalgia but only half-baked," while Lucy Mangan at The Guardian found it likable enough and nostalgic.
Manuel Betancourt of The A.V. Club gave the series' first season a B and wrote "If you grew up watching That '70s Show, you'll likely have no way of assessing whether That '90s Show works on its own. Maybe it can't. And maybe it doesn't even want to." Alan Sepinwall, in a column for Rolling Stone, expressed doubt that the multi-cam approach could find an audience in the streaming era; Richard Roeper gave a rating of two out of four stars and described it as "a little edgy and occasionally chuckle-inducing and mostly sweet-natured, and it's just OK and quickly forgettable."
The second season has an 88% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 8 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10.