Summary
That ’90s Showseason 2 brought back a fewThat ’70s Showcharacters, but the vast majority were left out this time around. While season 1 spent a good deal of time revealing what had come of the original crew since the end of the 1970s, it was important thatThat ’90s Showseason 2 give the new teenagers a chance to shine. Netflix followed through on this, and this most recent installment really saw Leia, Gwen, Nate, Jay, Nikki, and Ozzie come into their own. Of course, this also means that manyThat ’70s Showcharacters were left in the rearview.
Just likeThat ’70s Show,That ’90s Showis set at the Forman house, and season 2 sees Leia return here to spend the summer of 1996 with her grandparents. Naturally, this means that Kurtwood Smith’s Red and Debra Jo Rupp’s Kitty are a constant, hilarious presence throughout the series. Laura Prepon alsoreturned toThat ’90s Showseason 2to play Donna, bringing her daughter to Point Place from Chicago and even hanging around for a couple of episodes. In a fun surprise, Don Stark’s Bob Pinciotti also made a comeback, taking on a more regular role—butfar more'70s Showactors were missing.
That ’90s Show Season 2 Part 2: Release Date, Cast, Story & Everything We Know
That ’90s Show returned for season 2 in June 2024, but the streamer has split the sophomore outing in half with part 2 arriving in August.
8Jackie Burkhart
Played By Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis' Jackie Burkhart made acameo appearance inThat ’90s Showseason 1, revealing that she had married (divorced and remarried) Michal Kelso in the years followingThat ’70s Show. Overall, her character didn’t seem to have changed. Jackie still snapped orders at Kelso and pronounced his name with that memorable emphasis on an added third syllable. It’s also revealed that she is Jay Kelso’s mom, which brings a sweet touch to the new cast ofThat ’90s Show.
Though she presumably still lives in Point Place, Jackie didn’t appear inThat ’90s Showseason 2. Kunis noted leading up to the new installment’s release that it was time for her and the other members ofThat ’70s Show’s cast to leave the story to the new teens,stating that she and the others had already done their thing. Therefore, it’s likely that Jackie won’t appear in future seasons ofThat ’90s Showeither.
7Michael Kelso
Played By Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher appeared alongside his on and off-screen wife inThat ’90s Showseason 1. Michael Kelso seemed just as high energy and clueless as he had back inThat ’70s Show, though his suit implied that he had managed to become a fully functioning adult. Nothing was said of his career as a police officer, so this may be something he moved on from after moving back to Point Place from Chicago. Additionally, there was no mention in season 1 of Betsy, Kelso’s first daughter born at the end ofThat ’70s Show.
There wasn’t much time to answer these questions during Kutcher’s brief cameo inThat ’90s Showseason 1. The mysteries surrounding his character may have to be solved secondhand sincethe character’s absence in season 2 indicates that he won’t be appearing again any time soon, if at all. Though Kutcher hasn’t said anything about why he didn’t appear, his wife Kunis' response that they had already done their thing for the series likely carries over to him as well.
6Eric Forman
Played By Topher Grace
Topher Grace was a delightful addition inThat ’90s Showseason 1, where he reprised his role as Eric Forman. Eric was the central protagonist ofThat ’70s Show, making participating in the spinoff series imperative. His daughter Leia is the new star of the show, and the first episode ofThat ’90s Showincluded some heartwarming moments in which Eric fretted over his changing relationship with his daughter, discussed while sitting on the familiar hood of the Vista Cruise with wife Donna. In all, it was the perfect cameo appearance.
Unfortuantely, this was not repeated inThat ’90s Showseason 2. While other characters needed no explanations for their absences,Eric is a different story since it was strange that, as worried as he was about Leia staying in Point Place in 1995, he wouldn’t want to bring her there in 1996. As an answer,Donna mentioned inThat ’90s Showseason 2, episode 1, that Eric got motion sick backing out of the drivewayand decided to stay in Chicago instead. This naturally opened the door for Red to mock his weakling son, and the moment was otherwise breezed over.
The second half ofThat ’90s Showseason 2 will stream on Netflix on June 23, 2025.
5Fez
Played By Wilmer Valderrama
Fez had the most prevalent part to play inThat ’90s Show, where actor Wilmer Valderrama appeared in several episodes. It was revealed that Fez ran a salon in Point Place, paying off the arc in which he became a shampoo boy inThat ’70s Show. What’s more, he and Kitty discussed his breakup with Jackie, which explained why she had ended up with Kelso despite dating Fez at the end of season 8. Finally, it seemed as if Valderrama’s character was going to continue to be among the regular cast ofThat ’90s Showsince he and neighbor Sherri got pretty serious with their love affair.
It seemed as if Valderrama’s character was going to continue to be among the regular cast of That ’90s Show since he and neighbor Sherri got pretty serious with their love affair.
Valderrama was entirely absent fromThat ’90s Showseason 2, with his character never even being mentioned. Sherri was right back on the prowl for a new boyfriend in this installment of the Netflix series, indicating that Fez’s decision to get closer to her kids at the end of season 1 came to nothing.Valderrama has explained that he couldn’t make filming forThat ’90s Showseason 2 worksince his schedule was dominated byNCIS. Still, it would have been nice for Fez’s character to have at least been mentioned.
4Steven Hyde
Played By Danny Masterson
Steven Hyde is the only teen character fromThat ’70s Shownot to appear inThat ’90s Show, and this isn’t going to change. Actor Danny Masterson was facing multiple legal trials leading up to season 1, and he has since been sentenced to 30 years to life in prison, which he is currently serving. Given the severity of his crimes, it seems that Netflix has decided to distance itself entirely from the actor and his character, andthere has so far been no acknowledgment in the spinoff series that a character named Steven Hyde ever existed.
Many hoped that Hyde would be approached separately from the actor who played him and that the character would get a satisfying ending through a passing mention. Given the character’s personality inThat ’70s Show, it would certainly make sense that he, too, would have ended up in prison, and this could be brought up by Kitty or Red in future episodes. However, this would risk making light of a very serious situation. In all,That ’90s Showmay be better off just moving on from Hyde, and since he wasn’t mentioned in season 2, it seems this is the plan.
3Laurie Forman
Played By Lisa Robin Kelly & Christina Moore
Laurie Forman, older sister to Eric inThat ’70s Show,has also not been included so far inThat ’90s Show. The character was initially played by Lisa Robin Kelly, but her addiction to drugs and alcohol led the actor to come and go from the show before she was eventually recast inThat ’70s Showseason 6. Kelly passed away in 2013, making her return toThat ‘90 Showimpossible. However, since Christina Moore was the last actor to portray the character, Laurie may return in future seasons.
Of course, this would still be complicated. Since Kelly played Laurie first and for the longest amount of time, she is often associated with the role over Moore. Given the actor’s tragic death,it could be considered insensitive for Netflix to bring Moore back and ignore the legacy of Kelly’s performance. It might be better ifThat ’90s Showsimply references Laurie’s character, just as in season 2 when Kitty mentioned having to keep pregnancy tests around the house since her daughter was often “social.”
2Midge Pinciotti
Played By Tanya Roberts
Donna’s clueless mother inThat ’70s Show, Midge Pinciotti is another character absent fromThat ’90s Showseason 2. The character’s fate was already something of a mystery since Midge moved away to California after divorcing Bob, leaving Donna angry and understandably feeling abandoned. Though Donna visited her mother once, little else was said about what sort of role the woman played in her life, andThat ’90s Showhas only provided a subtle clue about what came of Midge.
Actor Tanya Roberts passed away in 2021, so Midge will not be appearing in future episodes ofThat ’90s Show. Kitty mentioned in season 2 that, with Bob back in Point Place, all of Leia’s grandparents were living in one place, whichseems toindicate that Midge has passed away sinceThat ’70s Showas well. However, it’s also possible that, given the character’s status as an absentee mother, Kitty wasn’t including her. Perhaps future seasons ofThat ’90s Showwill have some clearer answers.
1Randy Pearson
Played By Josh Meyers
Josh Meyers’ Randy Pearson was brought intoThat ’70s Showseason 8 as a replacement for Eric Forman, who was written to take off to teach in Africa when Grace decided to depart from the series. The changed dynamic within the friend group meant that Randy wasn’t a particularly popular character. When Grace returned for the finale ofThat ’70s Show, Randy was pretty much tossed out into the cold and was only featured for a short scene. Ultimately, this means that Meyers' character would make for the perfectThat ’90s Showcameo, though it hasn’t happened yet.
That ’90s Showhas taken a few golden opportunities to make fun ofThat ’70s Show, with characters pointing out the absurdity of things like teenagers hanging out with the fully grown Leo or the mystery of Fez’s home country. An appearance from Randy would be playing on a similar note, andthere could be dozens of jokes focusing on the fact that he was essentially a failed character. Unfortunately,That ’90s Showseason 2 didn’t take advantage of this comedic potential, but perhaps that will change in future installments.
That ’90s Show
Cast
That ’70s Show returns set two decades later with That ’90s Show, acting as a sequel but bringing back old cast favorites. Led by Red (Kurtwood Smith) and Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) Forman, the new cast arrives as the next generation, with the daughter of Eric and Donna, Leia Forman, leading the charge. Spending the summer with her grandparents, Leia makes new friends and forges new bonds in Point Place, Wisconsin. That ’70s Show series regulars make cameos in the show to maintain that sense of familiarity, and the show adopts the conventions of the ’90s as expected. That ’90s Show first aired on Netflix with a total of ten episodes.
