Saved By The Bell has been canceled by Peacock, with the reboot of the classic nineties sitcom ending its short run with two seasons and twenty episodes. The series was developed by Emmy winner Tracey Wigfield and featured most of the original cast reprising their roles, including Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Elizabeth Berkley, and Mario Lopez, as well as new cast members including Haskiri Velazquez, Mitchell Hoog, Alycia Pascual-Pena, and Josie Totah. The original Saved by the Bell ran for four seasons from 1989 to 1993.
Saved By The Bell follows a new cast of students at Bayside High who come from a mix of privileged and working-class backgrounds in an effort to avoid controversy from returning character Zach (Gosselaar), who is now the governor of California. Saved By The Bell received positive notice from critics with many complimenting the performances and self-awareness. The show was also said to have strong ratings on Peacock, despite only being available on the paid tier of Peacock Premium.
According to Deadline, the series has been officially canceled by Peacock, with the cast and crew being informed yesterday. It’s unknown how far into production the potential third season was, but given that season 2 came out back in November, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say pre-production was underway. A spokeswoman for Peacock spoke highly of the series and didn’t give a direct reason for the show’s cancelation. Read her statement below:
We are so proud to have been the home of the next iteration of Saved by the Bell for both new and OG fans. Saved by the Bell has been a cultural mainstay for more than 30 years and the new series, led by Tracey Wigfield’s superfan enthusiasm and signature witty humor, seamlessly continued the show’s legacy, all while allowing more audiences to feel seen. We’re grateful to Tracey, Franco Bario, our partners at UTV, the beloved cast, and the fans who have continued to champion one of the most iconic shows of all time
Peacock seems to be banking on nostalgia to garner new subscribers, with programs like Bel-Air and Punky Brewster also coming from fondly remembered NBC sitcoms (of the three, Bel-Air is the only one still in production.) With this, Peacock seems to be having trouble maintaining a sizable audience, letting subscribers in for free, but then locking their premium content behind a paywall, instead of the all-or-nothing system used by competitors like Netflix. Similar to Apple TV’s gradual rise, it may take some more time before Peacock finds content that amasses a wide audience.
Saved By The Bell did an admirable job of bringing the sitcom into the modern era, rectifying the mistakes of the past, and bringing a more diverse roster to the screen. However, modern entertainment has a hard time letting go of the past; a series that was just like Saved By The Bell but called something different might have fared better. In the end, Saved By The Bell is another nostalgic reboot that seemingly failed to connect with modern audiences and continues to prove that the nostalgia model isn’t always sustainable.
Source: Deadline
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Author: Warren Elliott
