TV Review: Saved By The Bell Hilariously Returns on Peacock

Coming to the Peacock app on November 25, I was SHOOK by Saved By The Bell’s reboot. Whether you are a Zack Morris or, his son, Mac Morris, the times may change but people are still people; with the same desires to dominate, fit in, fall in love, scheme, throw a party, and pick a prom date. In this new generation, SBTB maintains the original’s format of having each episode be an outlandish but moral tale. Thus, even if you turn yourself into a human payphone, tell the whole school Post Malone is coming to play homecoming, have an E reality series, and shame rich, white people to donate to your high-school fund, all that matters is your personal growth.

I binged through this series like lightning, especially because its premise seems so old but refreshingly done; a poorer highschool (Douglas High), filled with students of color from a “bad neighborhood” combines with a wealthier, whiter one (Bayside High). SHENANIGANS ENSUE. Still, I devoured the genuinely witty jokes and social commentary the show builds through it young cast, of which I will breakdown now:
Saved by the Bell | Official Trailer | Peacock

Haskiri Velazquez (Daisy): my FIERCE LATINA protagonist. WEPA!!!!!!!!!!!! She is super smart and sweet, but, slightly, annoying. Velazquez makes Daisy a mixture of “that girl” in school who would arrange a protest against a Dean’s new, fascist policy while also reminding the professor that he didn’t assign any new homework. Yet, Daisy’s ability to be a great, but flawed person sets up that this generation is going to be way more relatable and “human” then the last one. These are not caricatures but kids, and Velazques assures she is the show’s moral narrator.

Alycia Pascual-Pena (Aisha): my other FIERCE LATINA protagonist that is also smart, strong, and more open in the difficulty there is to adapt to white, wealthier schools. As one of the few Latinas that got a scholarship to go to an “elite” school, I really appreciated Pena’s expressions on feeling weird” or rather “poor” in such an environment.

Josie Totah (Lexi): this show’s biting wit literally rides on Totah’s tongue. The most hilarious lines and best comedic deliveries come from Totah every time. As the most popular girl of the school, I really loved that the show acknowledged the importance of a transwoman’s journey, while understanding that it is one journey amongst the many an individual must take to find their humanity. love that hers is about kindness and learning that a punchline or a punch never outweighs the possible goodness of your heart.

Belmont Cameli (Jaime): Sure, Jaime may be an idiot jock, but he is also INCREDIBLY NICE and unmalicious. Cameli gives a subtle depth to being, simply, a good guy, which is why you will love watching him and feel freshened by his noble presence.
Saved by the Bell Theme Song: Now and Then

Mitchell Hoog (Mac): I was genuinely shocked and happy that Mac, though the child of Kelly and Zack, was a secondary lead in this show because it, oddly, made him shine more. Okay, I don’t mean to bash the older generations, or their writers, but the original SBTB was not filled with good, selfless characters, which is why we loved them. They were self-centered airheads that always got themselves into trouble and, through privilege and beauty, got themselves out of it. Mac is another slice of bread from that loaf, but Hoog gives him an undercurrent of vulnerability that makes you cheer for and hope that his new, Douglas friends will help him become a better person.

Dexter Darden (Devante): Darden’s makes Devante the sweet teddy bear that only acts tough because he is soft. He becomes such a plushy heart of this show. Moreover, the fact that this show makes people of color smarter and more astute than their white counterparts still feels NEW to the TV world. There are not too many roles where we are described as smart or depicted as the leaders of intelligence. Devante pushes that the new series is truly about how prejudice and privilege clash, but this youth is more open to getting along and confronting the reasons the why we don’t. Yet, this push to do so also comes from older generations like, the older cast.
Saved by the Bell | Official Teaser 2 | Peacock

Mario Lopez is hilarious as AC Slater, who has become “that guy” whose prime was high-school and thus he decided to stay in his high school as a gym teacher. You may laugh and say, “That guy does not exist,” but he does and I was taught by him. Slater becomes a guide for the younger generation, and an emblem of how Saved By The Bell’s new iteration brilliantly nods to and plugs its old cast. Everyone landed where we presumed they would land; Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) could totally be Governor of California because he is a total charm without any credentials, which is a very political way to be. Meanwhile, Kelly (Tiffani Thiessen), his wife, would also call herself a “Doctor” even though she just owns an wellness brand that promotes optimism and skin rejuvenation. Moreover, Jesse Spano (Elizabeth Berkley) feels right as a counselor married to a holistic husband, whom like Kelly, just presumes they know things because they are so “positive.” Add the show-stopping John Michael Higgins as Principal Ronald Toddman for laugh out loud laughs, and SBTB is a recipe for a must-see comedy.

Created by Sam Bobrick, Saved By The Bell (2020) is fantastic, and the funniest show to come out this year, which, again, is surprising. The original Saved By The Bell (SBTB) was not really funny. It was campy, colorful, and one of those shows that was so bad it was good. The reboot embraces the original’s 90s colorfulness and camp and vamps it up with Gen-Z’s flashiness, activism, and irreverent humor; proving that the 1990s and 2020s have so much in common because youth always wants to be SEEN.