Peacock’s Saved By the Bell reboot has announced its new cast of high schoolers. While Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley and Mark-Paul Goselaar will be returning in some capacity to re-live their Bayside High days, a new set of students now roam the halls and rule the school. Saved By the Bell is a TV series which aired from 1989 to 1993. The light-hearted sitcom followed the lives of Zack Morris (Gosselaar) and his friends Samuel "Screech" Powers (Dustin Diamond), Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani Thiessen), Lisa Turtle (Lark Voorhies), A.C. Slater (Lopez) and Jessie Spano (Berkley) as they relied on each other to get through high school while pulling shenanigans on their principal Richard Belding (Dennis Haskins).
As previously announced, Josie Totah will be taking over Goselaar's character's role as group ringleader. Totah launched her acting career on Disney Channel playing Stuart in Jessie. She has since gone on to act in Glee, Other People and most recently, Mindy Kaling's Champions. Totah came out as transgender in an essay featured in Time Magazine. Totah has been embraced by not only the LGBTQ+ community, but by Hollywood for who she is. In Saved By the Bell, she will be playing a popular, 16-year-old cheerleader named Lexi. Since coming out, she has also played Lisa Haddad in No Good Nick.
The Illuminerdi has recently revealed who will be playing the supporting characters in Lexi's life. The cast is stacked with relative newcomers including Mitchell Hoog (Harriet), Belmont Cameli, Haskiri Velazquez (The Birch), Alycia Pascual-Peña and Dexter Darden (The Maze Runner trilogy). Written by Good News creator Tracey Wigfield, the pilot kicks off with Lexi finding herself in a competition with her next-door neighbor and rival Mac played by Hoog. Hoog's character is described as a "charming, privileged piece of candy" who knows how to play the system.
Cameli's character Jordan is Mac's best friend and fellow football teammate. Jordan is more sensitive and less of a meathead than the run-of-the-mill high school football player. Velazquez plays Deysi, an ambitious, straight-A student who is excited to start her high school career as a new student at Bayside High. Unfortunately, Deysi quickly realizes that as a second-generation Latinx, she is less privileged than the majority Bayside High and fears that it will set her apart. Deysi's best friend, Aisha played by Pascual-Peña, is more optimistic about their new school. Aisha is an easygoing girl who is determined to prove her athleticism having played on boy sports teams in her previous school. Darden plays a brooding bad boy who is forced into joining the football team despite his wishes.
This reboot is aiming to be less fluffy and campy than the original silly Saved By The Bell show and has the potential to take on some serious topics. The diverse casting is admirable and can lead to meaningful conversation surrounding race and sexuality. If Wigfield plays her cards right, she can use the namesake to discuss the hidden boundaries that exist in high school and are less commonly covered in teen flicks, like economic class and privilege. Former fans of the sitcom and new fans alike can find the Saved By the Bell reboot when Peacock drops in April 2020.
Source: The Illuminerdi
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