Mario Lopez Says Cobra Kai Convinced Him to Revisit Saved By the Bell

December 31, 2020

Mario Lopez Says Cobra Kai Convinced Him to Return for Saved By the Bell Reboot

In a recent interview with GQ, Mario Lopez revealed that he was hesitant to return to the role of Slater in the Saved By the Bell reboot, but that Cobra Kai convinced him otherwise.

“It was such a smart, clever way, the way they blended the nostalgia and this updated version. So [I said], if we can emulate that, then I’m down.”

So far, Saved By the Bell carries a 76% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 60% audience score, and it seems to be doing well in its first season as a nostalgia-fueled, self aware continuation of everyone’s favorite Bayside High students.

When California governor Zack Morris gets into hot water for closing too many low-income high schools, he proposes they send the affected students to the highest performing schools in the state – including Bayside High. The influx of new students gives the over-privileged Bayside kids a much needed and hilarious dose of reality in this comedy inspired by the classic late ’80s/early ’90s sitcom of the same name.

The revival will feature the return of original cast members Elizabeth Berkley (Showgirls), Mario Lopez (The X Factor), Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Mixed-ish) and Tiffani Thiessen reprising their iconic roles as Jessie, Slater, Zack and Kelly, respectively with Gosselaar and Thiessen only appearing in a few episodes. Joining them are the new young cast Dexter Darden, Josie Totah, Haskiri Velazquez, Mitchell Hoog, Alycia Pascual-Pena and Belmont Cameli.

The new Saved by the Bell will be executive produced and written by Emmy-winning 30 Rock writer-producer Tracey Wigfield. Peter Engel and Franco Bario also executive produce. The series is produced by Universal Television for Peacock.

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