It has been more than 15 years since That ’70s Show finished. Now many of the original stars will appear in an upcoming reboot – but they haven’t just been waiting idly by.
Netflix’s That ’90s Show will be set in 1995, and follows Leia Forman, daughter of original characters Eric and Donna, as she visits her grandparents Red and Kitty for the summer and bonds with a new generation of Point Place kids.
As the show’s logline reads: “Sex, drugs and rock ’n roll never dies, it just changes clothes.”
Anticipation is ramping up for That ’70s Show reboot, especially since it was announced Topher Grace (Eric Forman), Mila Kunis (Jackie Burkhart), Ashton Kutcher (Michael Kelso), Laura Prepon (Donna Pinciotti) and Wilmer Valderrama (Fez) will make guest appearances.
Fellow series originals Kurtwood Smith (Red Forman) and Debra Jo Rupp (Kitty Forman) will be series regulars, as well as executive producers.
When That ’70s Show first aired, the younger cast members were relatively unknown before the show shot them to stardom.
And with more than a decade since the show’s end, some of the actors have fared better than others.
In: Topher Grace (Eric Foreman)
Grace scored the role of a lifetime when he was cast as Eric Foreman, arguably the central character of That ’70s Show.
It was no surprise that Hollywood came knocking – but fans were caught off-guard when Grace abruptly exited the show at the end of the seventh season to pursue a film career.
His first major role after leaving the show was the 2007 flick Spider-Man 3, in which he played the film’s antagonist, Venom.
While the film’s 2006 shooting schedule meant Grace couldn’t be a series regular on That ’70s Show, he managed to appear at the end of the show’s eighth and final season.
Since then, Grace has starred in the 2010 romantic comedy Valentines Day, 2014 sci-fi hit Interstellar and the 2018 biographical comedy thriller, BlacKkKlansman.
Since 2021, Grace has been starring in the sitcom Home Economics. On the home-front, Grace married actress Ashley Hinshaw in 2016; they share two children.
Talking about returning to the iconic set for That ’90s Show, Grace said it felt like going home to see family for Christmas.
“It was a gift. They are all such amazing, amazing people who are so influential in my life and who I became,” he said.
In: Mila Kunis (Jackie Burkhart)
Kunis’ path to scoring the role of the spoiled Jackie Burkhart has become legendary, and since the end of the show that shot her to fame, her career has gone from strength to strength.
She has continued to provide the voice for Meg Griffin on long-running show Family Guy since its second season in 1999.
The actress has starred in her share of fun movie hits, such as 2008 comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, 2011 romcom Friends With Benefits and the 2016 comedy Bad Moms.
But Kunis has won the most acclaim for her serious roles.
She underwent a huge transformation for her role in the 2010 psychological horror film Black Swan, ending up at a weight of about 43 kg after months of dance training and an “awful” diet.
The movie scored several Academy Awards, and netted Kunis some of the biggest praise of her career and awards of her own, including a Golden Globe.
Her role in the 2022 Netflix mystery thriller Luckiest Girl Alive also scored Kunis a nomination for Drama Movie Star at the 2022 People’s Choice Awards.
Kunis has had her share of high-profile romances, including an eight-year relationship with Macaulay Culkin, but she is currently married with children to former That ’70s Show cast-mate Ashton Kutcher – who also happens to be the actress’ first kiss, thanks to their show.
In: Ashton Kutcher (Michael Kelso)
Kutcher, who had been a model before being cast in the iconic role of Michael Kelso, also has enjoyed a successful career since the end of the show.
He’s perhaps most well-known for romcom films like 2008’s What Happens in Vegas, 2010’s Valentine’s Day (in which he co-starred with Grace, although the pair didn’t share any scenes) and the 2011 flick No Strings Attached (which followed a similar friends-with-benefits storyline as a film his future wife Kunis starred in during the same year).
Kutcher scored a huge payday when he was cast in hit show Two and a Half Men, which he starred in for four seasons and reportedly earned about $700,000 per episode.
Kutcher also starred in Netflix series The Ranch alongside fellow That ’70s Show alumnus Danny Masterson.
Kutcher’s professional interests have extended beyond Hollywood, with the actor investing in several tech startups.
He founded anti-human trafficking organisation Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children with then-wife Demi Moore in 2009; in 2016-17, the organisation’s software found 6000 victims of modern slavery in six months.
In: Laura Prepon (Donna Pinciotti)
Following her turn as That ’70s Show‘s girl-next-door, Prepon starred in several films and TV shows before her next big role as a recurring character on How I Met Your Mother, with her first episode airing in 2009.
Arguably Prepon’s biggest role was in the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black, which premiered in 2013 and became one of the streaming platform’s first big international hits.
The actress won several awards for her performance in the show, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Prepon has released two books; The Stash Plan, a cookbook she co-wrote with nutritionist Elizabeth Troy, and part-memoir and part-parenting handbook You and I, as Mothers: A Raw and Honest Guide to Motherhood.
She married actor Ben Foster in 2018, and the couple share two children.
In: Wilmer Valderrama (Fez)
Since leaving That ’70s Show, Valderrama has enjoyed a steady stream of acting work.
His filmography includes the 2008 crime drama Columbus Day, 2011 romcom From Prada to Nada, and the 2021 Disney hit, Encanto.
Valderrama guest-starred on several series, including his former co-stars’ The Ranch, and scored a regular role on long-running police procedural NCIS in 2016.
The actor has copped some backlash from the public over his relationships with significantly younger women, often starting when the women were teenagers, including Mandy Moore, Lindsay Lohan and Demi Lovato.
Valderrama is currently engaged to model and scuba divemaster Amanda Pacheco, with whom he shares a child.
Out: Danny Masterson (Hyde)
Masterson enjoyed moderate success following That ’70s Show, including roles in 2008 romcom Yes Man and The Ranch series with Kutcher.
But his career took a nosedive when three women filed sexual assault allegations against Masterson in 2017.
Masterson was immediately dropped from The Ranch, and hasn’t scored any major roles since.
In November, a jury failed to reach a verdict in the trial centred on the rape allegations against Masterson, and a retrial has been scheduled for March 2023.
Masterson has denied the charges, but will not be appearing in That ’90s Show along with the rest of his former cast-mates.
That ’90s Show is set for its Australian Netflix release on January 19.
