“That ’70s Present” hasn’t stayed fairly as culturally ubiquitous as its fellow 90s sitcoms “Seinfeld” or “Mates,” however that speaks extra to how titanic its rivals had been and stay. True to its identify, “That ’70s Present” was set from 1976-1980 (4 years stretched out into twice as many seasons), following a gaggle of six excessive school-aged buddies rising up in Level Place, Wisconsin. The city is fictional, however the present’s creators modeled “That ’70s Show” and its characters on their real teenage experiences.
Operating from 1998 to 2006, “That ’70s Present” racked up a fair 200-episode run. It is also the rationale you understand who Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, and Topher Grace are — with its recognition, a revival was inevitable, particularly as a result of by the 2020s, sufficient time had handed to replace the central gimmick.
Enter “That ’90s Present,” with the setting having caught as much as the period when the unique present aired. Set in 1995, the present starred Leia Forman (Callie Haverda), daughter of authentic leads Eric (Grace) and Donna (Laura Prepon). Whereas her dad and mom are busy (and solely capable of often visitor star), Leia resides together with her paternal grandparents, original series supporting characters Red (Kurtwood Smith) and Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp).
However the period the place “That ’70s Present” reigned, the place sitcoms would produce 22+ episode seasons for syndication, is over. “That ’90s Present” lasted solely two seasons earlier than getting its plug pulled like so many different Netflix reveals earlier than and since. The present’s two seasons, making up 26 episodes, could be sufficient to fill one full TV season again in ’98.
The cancellation of “That ’90s Present” was confirmed by Kurtwood Smith in an October 3, 2024 Instagram post. Smith stated there are plans to buy the present round to a brand new residence for a possible season 3, however he did not clarify why Netflix is ending it. What is the story?
Set off warning: there can be references to sexual assault within the following slide.
Was That ’90s Present canceled due to Danny Masterson?
There’s an elephant within the room surrounding the legacy of “That ’70s Present,” a legacy that features the very existence of “That ’90s Present.” That elephant is authentic solid member Danny Masterson, who performed Steven Hyde, the surly, afroed pothead paranoid concerning the Man.
Masterson can also be a convicted rapist. In Could 2023, he was convicted of having raped two women in separate incidents in 2003, and subsequently (in September of that yr) sentenced to 30 years to life in prison. (Masterson’s attorney has filed an appeal as of December 2024.) Masterson is a Scientologist and plenty of, including case prosecutor Ariel Anson, have alleged that he used his affect throughout the Church of Scientology to each assault after which silence the survivors.
The damaging press bought even worse after it emerged that a number of of the “That ’70s Present” solid (namely Kutcher, Kunis, Smith, and Rupp) wrote letters testifying to Masterson’s supposedly good character. For sure, the letters didn’t sway Choose Charlaine Olmedo. Kutcher and Kunis subsequently posted an on-camera apology for having written the letters.
Masterson was first publicly accused in March 2017, and the accusations noticed him fired from the Netflix comedy series “The Ranch” (the place he co-starred with Kutcher) later that yr. It is no shock that Masterson didn’t seem on “That ’90s Present,” and the present by no means even referenced Hyde. Did his conviction merely make persevering with the present untenable? It is a pure assumption, however is it an accurate one?
Netflix canceled That ’90s Present as a result of low viewership
“That ’90s Present” season 2 premiered (in two separate components) in June 2024 and later in August 2024. It was then, once more, canceled round October 2024, a couple of yr after Masterson’s conviction. So, it seems the present wasn’t canceled instantly in response to the conviction. Deadline reported that it was much simpler: “That ’90s Present” season 2 did not appeal to sufficient viewership to justify making extra of the present. The primary half of the season solely broke into the Netflix High 10 as soon as, and the streamer even moved up the second half’s premiere date (from October to August), which did not reach boosting the numbers. This string of occasions does not sound like Netflix had written the showcase as a lame duck going into season 2.
The storm of damaging publicity might’ve had a roundabout impact, in that individuals did not need to watch “That ’90s Present” as a result of now spoiled recollections of the unique. “That ’70s Present” was as soon as one among my favourite sitcoms, however I am unable to convey myself to revisit it or watch “That ’90s Present.” That’s all speculative, after all; it is also been reported that viewership dropped quite a bit between “That ’90s Present” season 1 (which easily remained in the Netflix Top 10 the weekend of its premiere) and season 2. Perhaps the Masterson conviction in between the 2 seasons soured viewers, or perhaps a big chunk of viewers simply did not like season 1 sufficient to look at season 2. Regardless of the purpose, not sufficient Netflix viewers checked out “That ’90s Present” for season 3.
