A “That 70’s Show” spinoff is in the works! It will be a Netflix original and is set to span across ten episodes.
According to Hollywood Reporter, here is the official description of the spinoff: “Hello, Wisconsin! It’s 1995 and Leia Forman, daughter of Eric and Donna, is visiting her grandparents for the summer where she bonds with a new generation of Point Place kids under the watchful eye of Kitty and the stern glare of Red. Sex, drugs and rock ’n roll never dies, it just changes clothes.”
The original show takes place in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, and tells the story of a friend group in the 1970s as they grow up together. “That 70’s Show” originally aired in the ’90s and had eight seasons. The show began with the friends in high school and followed them through their adolescence and early young adult lives.
As a fan of the original, I am nervous to see how this spinoff with play out. As of the time I’m writing, only two of the original cast members have confirmed to be on board with this project. Debra Jo Rupp, who played Kitty Forman, and Red Forman will be returning to reprise their characters. While these characters are vital to a new plot and are loved by fans of the show, I cannot see this show playing out without a majority of the original cast.
It seems like every day we are faced with yet another spinoff show. I raise this question: why can’t we just come up with something new? While I love the original show, I think it should stand on its own. We cannot spinoff a show twenty years later and expect it to be able to stay true to the feel and the comedy that it originally had. We should just let a good thing be a good thing.
Even as I’m writing this, I know that I will still watch the show. If anything, just to see some of the original cast in the role of their ‘That 70’s Show’ characters again. Also, I am just interested to see how this spinoff will play out. Will they be successful in reaching a new, younger audience? Or are they trying to cater specifically to fans of the original show? Either way, that seems like it will be a difficult feat.