That '90s Show Part 2 Premiere Review: Welcome Back, Formans (2024)

When Netflix announced That '90s Show, the appeal came from getting to revisit the beloved That '90s Show characters. Obviously the sequel would have to include a new generation -- it wouldn't have made much sense if the original gang hadn't moved on with their lives. But viewers showed up to check in with Red and Kitty Forman, and then became interested in Red's granddaughter Leia Forman and her friends. In That '90s Show Season 2 -- which is referred to as "Part 2" -- that same idea still holds. The teenage characters have gotten better, but it's the adults who make this an entertaining sitcom.

That '90s Show Part 2 advances the action by a year so that Leia can spend another summer with her grandparents in Point Place. The first two episodes, "You Oughta Know" and "Something to Talk About," mostly deal with the cliffhanger from the end of Season 1: that Leia almost kissed Nate Runck, despite both characters being in other relationships. That takes up a lot of the screen time, yet the adults have more going for them.

How That 90s Show Season 2 Improves

The Teenage Actors Seem Like a Real Friend Group

During the first season, audiences saw the young actors having to find their chemistry and comic timing. Some of the That 90s Show cast were relatively new to the traditional sitcom world; Mace Coronel's biggest credit was in the Nickelodeon series Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn while his co-star Maxwell Acee Donovan was known for co-starring in Disney Channel's Gabby Duran and the Unsittables. Both of those brands are very different in style and sense of humor from That 90s Show, which relies heavily on jokes about sex in Season 2's first two episodes. And some of the other actors were relatively new to acting in general. The cast's inexperience came across during Season 1, and was one of the reasons the show wasn't as catchy as its predecessor.

However, with the benefit of those first 10 episodes under their belt, everyone seems more comfortable in That '90s Show Part 2. The actors have found a much better rhythm with each other that makes them feel like a believable friend group -- which is crucial since the series is so centered on the relationships between the characters. The premiere, entitled "You Oughta Know," and Episode 2, "Something to Talk About," only makes a handful of references to things happening to the teens outside of their social circle, such as Nikki's comments about her internship. Part of that is due to the cliffhanger that has to be resolved, but it has the side effect of making the actors have to really land their lines, because there's not much going on plot-wise outside of the Forman home. And they play off one another much better here.

The standout member of the group in these early episodes is Ashley Aufderheide as Gwen Runck, who gets some of the best one-liners and delivers them confidently. Most importantly, she has the opportunity to interject some of the underlying seriousness that made the characters of That '70s Show believable. Yes, they were funny and weird, but they weren't always joking. Gwen has an exchange with Nate's girlfriend Nikki that acknowledges the real discomfort underneath the Leia and Nate plotline, which is something Sam Morelos and Donovan also handle well when Nate and Nikki surprise everyone -- including themselves -- by breaking up. The humor in this franchise is funny because it has heart, and the cast scores in those moments, even if there aren't enough of them.

Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp Steal That '90s Show

Red, Kitty and a Returning Friend Shine in Part 2

The best reason to watch That '90s Show is still Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp as Red Forman and Kitty Forman. While the young actors have improved, there's still a sizeable -- and understandable -- gap between their riffing and the spot-on zingers from these two veteran actors and the general joy they exude whenever they're on screen. It's clear that Smith, Rupp and returning guest stars Don Stark and Laura Prepon are having a great time reprising their roles from That '70s Show, which makes their scenes pop more than any of those featuring the younger cast. Rupp in particular is delightfully over the top as Kitty embarks upon a desperate plan to get Leia, Donna and a referenced but unseen Eric Forman to move back to Point Place, briefly trying to claim that she's dying and snarking when Red tries to calm her down.

These scenes also work because the adult actors have much more to play with. Kitty's zany behavior works because while Rupp is at an 11 for most of the That '90s Show Part 2 premiere, it comes from a very real place of the character realizing how much she's missed her family being around her. Rupp also has Smith's deadpan, cynical reactions to balance her out so it's not just a series of gags. Smith likewise gets to dig into Red Forman a little bit more as the episode reveals that Red shares Kitty's feeling of something missing -- he just won't admit it. Red still makes jokes at Eric's expense, so the character has definitely not lost his edge, but there's a clear arc for him and Kitty that the rest of the characters don't have.

It's bolstered by the reappearance of Stark as Donna's father Bob Pinciotti, whom Donna convinces to move back to Point Place instead of her and Eric. Bob continues to be as much of a character as ever, and still drives Red up the wall. Yet That '90s Show also has a beat where Bob responds to Red calling their relationship his "personal hell" and audiences see how much it actually hurts him. That's then followed by a great joke where Bob takes his upset out on one of Red's most beloved model train set figurines. Rest in peace, Mayor Brown, the fans hardly knew ye. But Stark having a bigger role in Season 2 is a net gain for the series because it means more exploration of the adult characters and their stories, which are just as fun as anything their grandkids get into.

Is That '90s Show Season 2 Worth Watching?

Part 2's Humor Still Needs Some Improvement

Interestingly, the biggest weakness of That '90s Show Part 2 lies in an unexpected place: its humor. The material given to the adults is much funnier than the jokes made by the teenage stars, with a good 75 percent of the comedy revolving around sex and masturbation. Even factoring in that these are teenagers and that this isn't highbrow comedy, it's still very one-dimensional. Eric, Donna and the gang could crack wise about sex, but they could also find other things to laugh about. And some of the jokes -- such as comparing someone at the teens' school to Kelsey Grammer's Frasier Crane character -- just aren't funny, even with the laugh track. The Ozzie character especially is grating and adds little to the episodes, though that may be because Ozzie is the only character not caught up in the Leia and Nate story.

Season 2 does have its strong points, however; it soars when it rips off the music video for Lisa Loeb's hit song "Stay (I Missed You)," with Leia imagining herself singing it as an apology to her boyfriend Jay Kelso. Loeb appears in the background and proceeds to prod Leia out of her apartment, with the Grammy winner returning later as an advice-giving figment of Leia's imagination. The fantasy sequence is fun while being a spot-on replica of the original video -- down to the cat -- and Callie Haverda puts her all into it. It also reminds viewers that Loeb, who's been acting since the 1990s, has great comedy chops, too. If imaginary Lisa recurred like imaginary Alanis Morrissette on The Great North, that would be pretty funny.

While That '90s Show Season 2 still has places where it needs to improve, it's worth viewers' time to check in with Red, Kitty and even Lisa Loeb. The younger cast has taken steps forward from their debut outing and they should continue to get better, especially once the season figures out what directions it wants them to go in beyond teen relationship drama. And the adult cast is as funny as they've ever been, whether it's nailing jokes or the little details they throw into their performances. It's a breezy, charming diversion, just like Leia Forman returning for another summer in Point Place.

That '90s Show Part 2 is now streaming on Netflix.

That '90s Show Part 2

TV-14

5

10

This sequel to popular sitcom That '70s Show picks up two decades later, with Eric and Donna's daughter Leia Forman coming to Point Place and falling in with a whole new group of friends.

Release Date

January 19, 2023

Cast

Kurtwood Smith , Debra Jo Rupp , Callie Haverda , Ashley Aufderheide

Main Genre

Comedy

Seasons

2

Pros

• Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp deliver great laughs.
• Laura Prepon and Don Stark make welcome returns.
• The younger cast gels together much better than in Season 1.
• A great music video parody featuring Lisa Loeb.

Cons

• Too many sexual jokes make the humor feel one-dimensional.
• Not enough character development between the jokes.
• The Ozzie character doesn't mesh with the tone of the show.