Original That ’70s Show Actors’ Sequel Return Status Follows A 26-Year-Old Sitcom Tradition

The status of two That ’70s Show characters’ return in That ’90s Show season 2 actually follows a tradition from the original sitcom. After spending the summer of 1995 with her grandparents, Eric and Donna’s 15-year-old daughter, Leia Forman, will be returning to Point Place one year later in That ’90s Show season 2. Netflix has confirmed that That ’90s Show season 2 will arrive sometime in the summer of 2024, with the main cast of That ’90s Show expected to return.

Most of the ’70s gang appeared in That ’90s Show season 1 (except for Hyde due to Danny Masterson’s criminal conviction) in some capacity, but with a new season on the horizon, questions remained about which of the original That ’70s Show cast members would be making cameos again in season 2, if any. Wilmer Valderrama already cast doubt about his return as Fez in That ’90s Show season 2, and now, a new update about the status of two other That ’70s Show characters’ returns has been shared that introduces yet another parallel between the spinoff and its predecessor.

Ashton Kutcher’s Kelso & Mila Kunis’ Jackie Won’t Be Back In That ’90s Show Season 2

Kelso & Jackie Were Revealed To Be The Parents Of Leia’s Love Interest Jay In That ’90s Show Season 1

It’s been confirmed that That ’70s Show stars Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher won’t have cameos in That ’90s Show season 2. Kunis and Kutcher played on-and-off love interests Jackie Burkhart and Michael Kelso on That ’70s Show long before they got married in real life. While Jackie and Kelso did not end up together at the end of That ’70s Show, the offscreen couple reunited onscreen in the series premiere of That ’90s Show, confirming their on-again relationship status and revealing they’re the parents of Leia’s new friend, Jay.

While Kutcher and Kunis’ brief appearance in That ’90s Show was a fun throwback that established another link between the old ‘70s gang and the new crop of kids, Kunis confirmed that she and Kutcher won’t be back for round two. “We did our thing,” Kunis told EW, “and they introduced our son in the show.” Similar sentiments were expressed by Valderrama when asked if he would return as Fez in That ’90s Show season 2. “I feel like I did it,” he told Collider. “And…it was a lot of fun…But I think it’s really the kids’ show.”

Jay’s Parents Being Absent From Future That ’90s Show Seasons Follows The Original Sitcom’s Tradition

Most Of The Gang’s Parents Rarely Made Appearances In That ’70s Show

Kelso and Jackie’s absences in That ’90s Show season 2 actually continue a pattern from That ’70s Show. Other than the Formans and the Pinciottis, it was very rare to see any of the gang’s parents onscreen in That ’70s Show. Hyde’s mother Edna (Katey Segal) only appeared onscreen in the season 1 episode “Career Day” before abandoning him, and his absent (presumed) father Bud only returned for two episodes in season 3. Hyde’s biological father, William “WB” Barnett (Tim Reid), wasn’t introduced until season 7, appearing in a total of nine episodes.

Like Hyde’s mom, Kelso’s father, John, also only appeared in “Career Day,” and his mother never appeared on the show at all. Jackie’s mother, Pam, only appeared in one episode of season 1 (where she was played by Eve Plumb) before the character was recast with Brooke Shields in season 6, at which point she reunited with Jackie and started dating Donna’s dad, Bob. Jackie’s father, Jack (Paul Kreppel), only appeared in three episodes of season 1 and was later imprisoned for bribery and embezzlement in season 5.

Of course, Fez’s parents weren’t expected to make an appearance since he’s a (seemingly permanent) foreign exchange student, though it’s never revealed where his family is from. Even Donna’s mother Midge, who was a main character for the first three seasons of That ’70s Show, disappeared in season 4 and only returned as a special guest in select episodes of seasons 6 and 7. Only Red, Kitty, and Bob appeared consistently throughout the series’ eight-season run.

Red and Kitty continue to act as the principal parental figures in That ’90s Show (except as grandparents this time) with Sherri Runck, their next-door neighbor and mother of Leia’s friends Nate and Gwen, filling Bob’s role. Neither Nate’s nor Gwen’s father has made an onscreen appearance in That ’90s Show, nor have the parents of either of Leia’s friends, Ozzie and Nikki. The spinoff is already mirroring the sporadic parental appearances in the original show, so it’s even more fitting that Jackie and Kelso won’t be returning as Jay’s parents in That ’90s Show season 2.

That ’90s Show Season 2 Still Needs To Answer Important Kelso & Jackie Questions (Despite Their Absences)

Jay Kelso Can Clear Up The Mysteries Surrounding His Parents In The Spinoff

Even though Jackie and Kelso won’t be returning for That ’90s Show season 2, there are still tons of lingering questions from That ’70s Show about the Kelso lineage that have yet to be addressed in the spinoff. For instance, That ’90s Show has yet to acknowledge Kelso’s daughter, Betsy, who was born in That ’70s Show season 7 and lives with her mother Brooke in Chicago.

Betsy would be around the same age as her half-brother Jay in That ’90s Show, but she’s never been brought up by any of the characters. Rather than retcon the existence of Kelso’s first-born, Jay should mention her in That ’90s Show season 2 to clear up her whereabouts or even have her make an appearance.

One Kelso family member who definitely still exists in That ’90s Show is Michael’s older brother Casey (Luke Wilson). In That ’90s Show, Donna tells Leia that she used to date Casey Kelso while she and Eric were broken up in That ’70s Show. This Casey mention in season 1 cemented his continued existence in the franchise’s universe, but it’s unknown where he is or what he’s up to. Since Jackie and Michael won’t be returning, maybe Luke Wilson can reprise his role as Casey Kelso in That ’90s Show season 2 and pay a visit to his nephew Jay.

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  That 90s Show

  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. 

  Cast

  Kurtwood Smith
  , Debra Jo Rupp
  , Mace Coronel
  , Callie Haverda
  , Ashley Aufderheide
  , Sam Morelos
  , Reyn Doi
  , Maxwell Acee Donovan

  Release Date

  
  January 19, 2023
  

  Seasons

  1

• 

  That ’70s Show

  Where to Watch

  *Availability in US

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  Not available

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  That ‘70s Show was one of Fox’s most popular sitcoms upon its release in 1998. Starring Topher Grace (Eric Forman), Laura Prepon (Donna Pinciotti), Mila Kunis (Jackie Burkhart), Danny Masterson (Steven Hyde), Wilmer Valderrama (Fez), and Ashton Kutcher (Michael Kelso), That ‘70s Show revolves around the teens’ mishaps as they grow up in Point Place Wisconsin in the 1970s.

  Cast

  Topher Grace
  , Laura Prepon
  , Mila Kunis
  , Ashton Kutcher
  , Wilmer Valderrama
  , Debra Jo Rupp
  , Kurtwood Smith
  , Danny Masterson

  Release Date

  
  August 23, 1998
  

  Seasons

  8