Peacock’s ‘Saved by the Bell’ trailer forces Bayside to check its privilege
Old Bayside squad, meet the new Bayside squad.
On Tuesday Peacock released a new trailer for its highly anticipated reboot of “Saved by the Bell,” starring Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley Lauren, Tiffani Thiessen and Mark-Paul Gosselaar as adult versions of their beloved characters. And joining them is a new cast of spunky teens, featuring Belmont Cameli, Dexter Darden, Mitchell Hoog, Alycia Pascual-Peña, Josie Totah and Haskiri Velazquez.
“We all want these new kids to feel welcome,” Berkley Lauren’s Jessie Spano, now Dr. Spano, tells Lopez’s A.C. Slater, now the Bayside High gym teacher. “It’s not gonna work unless we get to know them.”
Despite leading the original series, Gosselaar’s Zack Morris was a late addition to the revival, which NBC initially billed as a comeback vehicle for Lopez and Berkley Lauren.
On Thursday, Entertainment Weekly reported that original cast member Lark Voorhies, who played fashionista Lisa Turtle, will also reprise her character in the reboot.
“Saved by the Bell” star Mark-Paul Gosselaar doesn’t know why NBC didn’t approach him for the reboot of his beloved sitcom for its new streaming service.
The latest trailer reintroduces Zack as the governor of California, who decides to re-enroll kids from underfunded school districts at the affluent Bayside High after drawing criticism for shuttering schools in the area. And the newcomers have no problem checking their classmates’ Bayside privilege.
“Why is everybody so rich?” Pascual-Peña’s Aisha wonders aloud to Velazquez’s Daisy, who tells Kelly Kapowski (Thiessen) and Zack Morris’ son, Mac Morris (Hoog), “You only know how Bayside works for kids like you,” a.k.a. “privileged kids.”
“Time out,” Daisy says, apparently replacing Zack as Bayside’s new scene-freezing, fourth-wall breaker. “What is up with these kids?”
NBCUniversal’s new streaming service, Peacock, is planning another “Saved by the Bell” sequel, and its Zack Morris-inspired premise has us scratching our heads.
California first lady Kelly also makes a few cameos in the preview, taking selfies and rocking out with her fellow Bayside alumni. And John Michael Higgins stars as Principal Toddman, who declares, “ I just care about Zack and Kelly,” in meta nod to the ‘90s sitcom’s cult fandom.
“Bayside is where I finally felt like I belong,” Lopez’s A.C. tells Darden’s Devante. “This place is magic.”
The “Saved by the Bell” reboot, executive produced by Tracey Wigfield, Franco Bario and Peter Engel, will be available to stream Nov. 25 on NBC’s Peacock.
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