Picture: Patrick Wymore/Netflix
Netflix has officially confirmed that That 90s Show will return for a season 2, but its ETA is now unknown with the writer’s strike and filming delayed. Here’s an updated guide to everything we know about the second season of That ’90s Show expected to be coming to Netflix in 2024.
That ’90s Show is a Netflix Original sitcom and sequel to the series That ’70s Show. The series was directed by Gail Mancuso and written by creators Gregg Mettler, Bonnie Turner, Lindsey Turner, and Terry Turner. Casey-Werner is the production company behind the series, with Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner listed as two of eleven executive producers on the show.
Now it’s 1995, and Leia Forman is visiting her grandparents for the summer, where she bonds with a new generation of Point Place, WI, kids under the watchful eye of Kitty and the stern glare of Red.
That ’90s Show Season 2 Netflix Renewal Status
Netflix Official Renewal Status: Renewed
On February 3rd, 2023, Netflix confirmed that the series would return for future episodes.
The second 2 order consists of 16 new episodes (it’s unclear whether these will be split into multiple parts).
Renewal poster for That 90s Show
Bonnie and Terry Turner, in a statement, said, “We here in Point Place are thrilled that we’re doing a second season. We’d like to thank all of the fans old and new for tuning in. We’re truly grateful.” adding, “Going to Point Place last season was a real treat for all of us. We’re thrilled to return.”
That '90s Show is returning for season 2! pic.twitter.com/6UtsNQwrGT
— Netflix (@netflix) February 3, 2023
How well is That ’90s Show performing on Netflix?
So how well is the show performing? Let’s dive into some of the stats.
Thanks to the Netflix hourly top 10s, we can see how well the show performs on Netflix.
For a show like That 90s Show with a shorter runtime, it’ll likely come down to how big of a drop the show sees with hours watched instead of raw numbers.
Here are the weekly hours for season 1 of That ’90s Show which adds up to 67.33 million hours watched between January 15th and January 29th:
| Week Period | Hours Viewed(M) | Rank | Week in Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 15th, 2023 to January 22nd, 2023 | 41,080,000 | 5 | 1 |
| January 22nd, 2023 to January 29th, 2023 | 26,250,000 (-36%) | 4 | 2 |
At this point, it’s worth noting the fact that the show is in the top 10s at all is far beyond what other similar comedy shows have managed to achieve. Blockbuster, The Upshaws, and Mo, for instance, have never featured in the Netflix top 10s, and in the case of the latter two, they have both been renewed.
As a result, in recent years, Netflix’s track record with comedy series hasn’t been strong, thus meaning that the bar for renewal could be a lot lower.
In terms of CVE (as we covered in our January 25th top 10 reports), the show launched with the same viewership as Resident Evil or The Imperfects. This isn’t a perfect comparison, given both shows are in different genres and, most importantly, different budget categories.
Headed into week 2, the show was trending above canceled series Archive 81, First Kill, and Partner Track but slightly behind Resident Evil.
That 90s Show CVE Viewership in Week 2 – Picture: Netflix & Chiffres.
Looking at the raw top 10s, we can see where the show is performing and where it’s not. The show is naturally performing best in the United States and Canada but is also picking up a big batch of points in the Nordics, South Africa, and Australia.
Below, you can see the points it managed to pick up in the top 10s since its debut on January 19th and the heatmap of where the show has picked up the most points.
Raw top 10s on Netflix for That 90s Show – Picture: FlixPatrol
What to expect from That ’90s Show season 2 on Netflix?
First up, let’s begin with a brand new synopsis for the second season of That 90s Show:
“Hello Wisconsin! The school year took forever, but now it’s the summer of 1996 and Leia Forman is back in the basement with her Point Place friends for more hook-ups, break-ups and as much trouble as they can fit into three months. Kitty is thrilled, but unfortunately for Red the Forman house still smells like teen spirit.”
When will Leia go back to Point Place?
Leia and her parents live in Chicago, but the drive from the city to Point Place takes a few hours. This means for Leia to spend any significant time at Point Place, she will need to wait until Christmas, Spring Break, or Summer Vacation. The ’90s went through many different trends, so lots can change each time Leia visits.
In an interview with Collider, Reyn Doi said he thinks the plan would be for future seasons to be set each summer, saying “I think their plan was to do it every season in the summer. I think they [The Turners] said that in the interview.”
Leia x Jay x Nate x Nikki
In a surprising turn of events, just before Leia was due to leave Point Place she almost shared a kiss with Nate, Jay’s best friend, and Nikki’s boyfriend. However, Gwen, Nate’s sister, walked in on the pair before anything happened.
Extremely confused by what just happened, Leia and Nate haven’t fully addressed the implications of how their complicated new feelings will change the group dynamic. With a lot of time to pass between the next time we see Leia at Point Place, this will give her plenty of time to decide whether or not she wants to be with Jay, or risk hurting Nikki to try and be with Nate.
At the very least, on an emotional level, Leia and Nate are a much better match for each other than their current significant others.
Speaking to Distractify, Callie Haverda (Leia in the show) said her character would be more confident in season 2 saying:
“I think she’ll kind of move out of her comfort zone with the things that Gwen taught her and we’ll probably see her come back as a more confident person as more like, sure of herself. She’s probably done even more new experiences, met new people while she was gone. Yeah, I’m really excited to see what happens with her, when she comes back.”
Red Rage, Kitty Delight
Even with Leia returning to Chicago, Kitty has said her friends can use the basement as much as they want while she’s away, much to Red’s horror. Having survived a generation of basement-dwelling “dumbasses” he now faces a brand new generation,
Having escaped the dumbasses of his basement, Red now faces a brand new generation of basement dwellers. We can’t wait to see the effect the new basement dwellers have on Red while Leia is away. Meanwhile, Kitty will be more than in her element as she acts like a surrogate grandmother for all of Leia’s friends.
Picture: Netflix
Will we see more of Eric?
We saw a lot more of Donna than Eric in the first season. However, this was because Eric spent a large amount of summer at camp. Perhaps next season, we’ll see more of Eric as he attempts to bond with his teenage daughter.
Who can we expect to see in the second season of That 90s Show?
We would expect the majority of the cast to return for the second season;
- Callie Haverda as Leia
- Kurtwood Smith as Red
- Debra Jo Rupp as Kitty
- Mace Coronel as Jay
- Ashley Aufderheide as Gwen
- Sam Morelos as Nikki
- Reyn Doi as Ozzie
- Maxwell Acee Donovan as Nate
We may also see more guest appearances from the previous cast members of That ’70s Show:
- Topher Grace as Eric
- Laura Prepon as Donna
- Ashton Kutcher as Kelso
- Mila Kunis as Jackie
- Wilmer Valderrama as Fez
When will That 90s Show be on Netflix?
Filming was originally due to get underway from May 26th, 2023 ongoing, through to the end of September 2023.
Free tickets to be in the audience are available on the website Iota, with filming taking place on the following dates:
- May 26th
- June 2nd
- June 9th
- June 23rd
- June 30th
- July 14th
- July 21st
- July 28th
- August 18th
- August 25th
- September 1st
- September 15th
- September 22nd
- September 29th
However, as we know now (h/t @JosephN24922691), filming will not be underway until the WGA Strike has resolved, as per a notice on the website for 1iota.
Filming delay for That 90s Show
As a result, we’re no longer expecting an early 2024 release date with it likely pushed much further back into the year.
Why Isn’t That ’70s Show on Netflix?
Once the third most-watched sitcom on Netflix, That ’70s Show left the platform globally in September 2020. After a two-year wait, it was finally revealed in August 2022 that the sitcom had found a new streaming home, Peacock.
By the time it was announced That ’70s Show was moving to Peacock, Netflix had already been working on That ’90s Show for ten months, and filming was still ongoing.
It’s confusing that Casey-Werner, the owner of That ’70s Show, allowed Peacock to purchase the streaming rights for three years when they were working on the sequel to the same series with Netflix. We’re not sure what the reasons behind the decision are, but regardless, Netflix should have thrown the kitchen sink at Casey-Werner to win the streaming rights back for That ’70s Show.
So, as it stands in the US, Netflix subscribers will need a subscription to Peacock to stream That ’70s Show.
That 70s Show
Are you looking forward to the second season of That ’90s Show? Let us know in the comments below!
