That ’70s Show star Wilmer Valderrama, who plays Fez, shares a definitive answer on why he won’t be returning in That ’90s Show season 2. A sequel to That ’70s Show, the new Netflix sitcom centers on Eric and Donna’s teenage daughter, Leia Forman, as she spends the summer in Point Place, Wisconsin with her grandparents, Red and Kitty, during the mid-1990s. Though multiple stars from That ’70s Show, including Valderrama, returned for the first season of the sequel series, many of them won’t be back for That ’90s Show season 2.

Talking to PEOPLE, Valderrama revealed the reason why he won’t be appearing in That ’90s Show season 2. The star, who plays Fez, says he is busy filming NCIS and doesn’t have time for the Netflix series. However, Valderrama has complete confidence in the younger cast to carry the show forward. Read his full comments below:

There’s no time! We’re pushing 20 episodes a season [on NCIS], but at the same time, it’s the kids’ jobs. This is their show now, and I think it was important that we came and pay respect to their show and have fun with the legacy of what we did. At the same time, it was really about, you know, now seeing them take it over.

Every That ’70s Show Star Not Returning For That ’90s Show Season 2

Laura Prepon Is The “Only Member Of The Younger Leading Original Cast” Who Will Return

It’s now known that Valderrama won’t be returning for That ’90s Show season 2 because he is busy filming NCIS. However, a report previously confirmed that Laura Prepon is the “only member of the younger leading original cast” who will return for That ’90s Show season 2. Other young members of the original leading cast include Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, and Ashton Kutcher. Other older members of the original cast – such as Debra Jo Rupp, Kurtwood Smith, Don Stark, and Tommy Chong – will be returning for season 2.

It was previously confirmed that Kunis and Kutcher, who returned as Jackie and Kelso for one episode in season 1, won’t be returning in season 2. Kunis says they were content with their cameos in the first season and their characters’ son, Jay Kelso (Mace Coronel), carrying on their legacy. Grace, who also appeared in one episode in season 1 as Eric, won’t be seen in season 2, though his daughter, Leia, remains the lead character. This leaves Prepon’s Donna, Leia’s mother, as the only original member of the younger cast who will return for season 2.

To Valderrama’s point, the sequel show is now squarely in the hands of the younger That ’90s Show cast. This includes Callie Haverda, Ashley Aufderheide, Reyn Doi, Sam Morelos, and Maxwell Acee Donovan. Most of these younger actors are unknown, though they will surely continue to make names for themselves in That ’90s Show season 2 and beyond, just as the younger That ’70s Show stars did.

Source: PEOPLE