The Saved by the Bell reboot was canceled after two seasons.
According to Deadline, the cast and crew of the reboot were notified on Wednesday (May 3) that the series will not be making it to a third season.
Saved by the Bell first premiered in 1989 and ran for four seasons and 86 episodes until 1993. It followed a group of high school friends and their principal from the fictional Bayside High School in Los Angeles as they navigate lives, loves and a variety of others. adolescent issues.
A huge hit with viewers and broadcast around the world, the show was so successful that it spawned two spin-offs; Saved by the Bell: The College Years and Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which ran for an additional seven seasons and over 140 episodes. In addition to this, the series has also spawned two television movies; Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style and Saved by the Bell: Las Vegas Wedding.
Peacock restarted the show in 2020 as part of its new service. The reboot followed a new cast of Bayside High students, with almost all of the show's original cast reprising their roles from Adult Life.
The second season of the reboot premiered in November 2021, with all 10 episodes airing on the same day. Peacock had been tight-lipped about the future of the show, but now he has moved the axe.
A Peacock spokesperson said of the cancellation: "We are very proud to have brought the next version of Saved by the Bell to new fans and OG fans. Saved by the Bell is a mainstay of culture for over 30 years and the new series, led by Tracey Wigfield's superfan enthusiasm and witty humor have seamlessly continued the legacy of the show, while allowing more viewers to feel seen.The fans who have continued to champion one of the most iconic shows of all time. times ".
Is this the last we'll see of Saved by the Bell? Surely it will be so for some time.
Analysis: Does nostalgia have its limits?
Peacock's statement doesn't get into the dirty business of why they canceled the show, but it's unlikely to be complicated.
The vast majority of the cast in the reboot were young upstarts, and while the stars from the original series who reprized their roles — Elizabeth Berkley Lauren, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Mario Lopez and Tiffani Thiessen — might have commanded a due premium, none of them they are Hollywood A-listers.
As a single-camera display is largely held in the same venue, the savings wouldn't have been prohibitive, so I'd assume it's viewing numbers, pure and simple.
When the reboot was announced, at a time when Peacock was aggressively pursuing subscribers, big nostalgic pieces like this will have served to appeal to viewers who loved the show in their youth. Peacock's wager then would be that the show could win over a new, younger audience, or serve its purpose of hooking the show's original, now-adult fans, who would hopefully remain subscribers, but might not stick with the show. Peacock continues to grow with 13 million subscribers on his book now, but clearly not many of them have been following the events at Bayside High.