Saved By The Bell Reboot: Every Original Character Who Has Appeared So Far

The Saved By The Bell reboot on NBC’s streaming service Peacock has been met with mixed reactions. Whether you like or dislike it, chances are that any fan of the original will at least feel some twinges of nostalgia while watching.

While the focus of the series is on a new cast of kids, there are some surprise returning cast members. But there are also former characters who are missing. For example, Screech, played by Dustin Diamond, is presumably at the Space Station with “Kevin,” who might be his husband – no more clarification is given.

So which favorites returned and how are they involved with the school?

8 Zack Morris

The protagonist and most likable character from the original series, Zack only has a peripheral role in this series. Not surprisingly, he’s the father of the new class clown and resident Bayside prankster, Mac Morris. But he also holds a much more prominent position: he’s the Governor of California.

Presented to be the same slightly dimwitted, goofy guy, Zack somehow managed to make himself relatable enough to get elected to office, even if it seems like he doesn’t know what he is doing half the time. He was a lawyer beforehand so there are clearly some smarts behind the still-flowing blonde hair and laissez-faire attitude. That said, the show sheds light on the absent relationship Zack has with his son who clearly acts the way he does out of frustration for not being able to spend more time with his father.

7 Kelly Kapowski (Morris)

Yes, Kelly is still married to her high school sweetheart Zack, and it seems happily so. She is also presented as flaky, the Governor’s housewife who runs her own business, or rather, “wellness brand.” It’s unfortunate that the series didn’t give Kelly a more successful path, but considering she was never the smartest in school, it’s certainly realistic to suggest that she was never going to be a career woman.

Still “hot,” as Zack describes her, the spark is as strong as ever between the two. Kelly is mostly in the background while Zack takes the spotlight, though it’s clear that she has the power to pull the strings should she choose to. Usually, all it takes is to seduce her husband in a red dress.

6 A.C. Slater

While fans of the original series might have had high hopes for Slater, it seems he ended up still at Bayside, working as the football coach. Still in amazing shape (and insistent on telling everyone he knows about what great shape he’s in) he’s also still single.

It’s unclear if he was ever married and he does not appear to have any children. But he lives in an apartment and seems to focus all of his time on work and working out. It’s also suggested that Slater still holds a candle for Jessie, who is now his co-worker. While he’s much the same guy, he has grown a lot as well and seems like a softened version of the teenage Slater who is much more sensitive to others’ needs, and even apologizes to Jessie in one scene for the way he used to treat her. It’s a good direction for him since his macho attitude certainly would not have come across as acceptable in this day and age. Though Slater still seems to butt heads with his former best friend Zack.

5 Jessie Spano

Married to a wistful writer who goes on retreats to find or center himself for six months at a time, Jessie has done well in her professional life but it seems not so much in her personal one. A successful doctor, she works as a psychologist/guidance counselor at Bayside. She is also an accomplished author. And most importantly, she’s 30 years sober from caffeine. Whether fans were excited for the reboot or not, everyone loves that iconic caffeine pills scene from the original.

Jessie’s teenage son Jamie goes to Bayside and seems to be the antithesis of Jessie – free-spirited and ditzy. She also clearly coddles him in an interesting representation of the control issues Jessie always had, even as a teen. While Jessie and her husband, played by Cheyenne Jackson, are going to therapy and trying to work through their issues (or rather, it seems the issues only Jessie believes are apparent), the marriage may very well be over.

4 Max

Yes, Max is back! While he is only seen in a couple of scenes as the still-owner of The Max restaurant, he does his signature magic tricks while serving food to the kids. In one scene, for example, when Devante says he ordered cheese on his burger, Max tells him to look in his pocket, and of course, out comes a slice of American cheese.

Max looks the same with the same crazy haircut and uniform. Some things never change. The Max remains the hangout spot for the kids of Bayside, even after all these years.

3 Lisa Turtle

Lisa doesn’t actually appear on the show, but she is in one scene when Jessie video calls her while the gang is at a school fundraising event. Lisa, who also looks much the same, is apparently a wealthy fashion designer living in Paris. It appears that the group doesn’t really see her at all anymore.

As she chats with the gang, she has to excuse herself because her lovers (yes, plural) are awakening. It seems like the perfect story for the fashion-centric Lisa.

2 “Ron Ron” Toddman

OK, so technically Mr. Toddman, the principal at the school, was not in the original series. But a hilarious storyline suggested that he was a fellow student and the gang was so self-absorbed, and continues to be so, that they never even remembered him.

Adding fuel to the fire was a montage of old clips with “Ron Ron” superimposed in the scene to make it look like he was there, along with a video call to Lisa confirming that “Ron Ron” was not only real but had once saved Jessie’s life in an ATV accident. While this principle character is much goofier than Mr. Belding, and there are other great actors who would have been perfect in a recasting of the character, John Michael Higgins does a wonderful job in the role.

1 Mr. Dewey

Many fans might not even have recognized him, but Mr. Dewey, the dejected teacher who walks into class and declares that the kids need to do their work quietly because he has to send an angry message to Tinder, was actually a recurring character on the original show.

He didn’t have a major role but the fact that at least one teacher still remains at the school decades after the kids of Bayside have left adds to the nostalgic feel.

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