‘That ‘90s Show’ Season 2, A Rare, Easy Netflix Renewal

While many show creators, cast members and fans have to sweat it out waiting for a renewal by Netflix, That ‘90s Show got off easy.

Just two weeks after it debuted, Netflix has already announced that That ‘90s Show will be getting a season 2. Normally, even successful shows are forced to wait 30-40 days for Netflix’s hammer of judgement to come down, but this case was always going to be something of a slam dunk.

“All of us at That ’90s Show were beyond excited by the warm, enthusiastic response to our first season,” series co-creator and showrunner Gregg Mettler said. “We can’t wait to return to Point Place for another summer of laughs and surprises. Hello 1996!”

Well, that confirms that we will be tackling the following summer, rather than changing the show to take place during the school year and bringing Leia back for some reason. I’m not sure what excuse they’ll keep giving for Leia returning to her grandparents place summer after summer away from her parents, but whatever.

As for the show’s renewal itself, this was a rare case of this being very easy to predict. Netflix is all about budget, budget, budget these days, and there are few scripted series cheaper to produce than a “filmed in front of a live audience” fixed set sitcom that’s straight out of 20 years ago.

On top of that, the show performed well, the only show in all of January to knock Ginny and Georgia off the top spot for a couple of days, and it’s hung out in the top 10 since release. That ‘90s Show also has the benefit of being…good. If you’re a fan of That ‘70s Show, which millions of people were, it’s hard not to like as it balances old cast members with the new kids, who by the end of the season, do feel like they’re coming into their own, rather than just being direct analogs to the old cast.

I previously compared That ‘90s Show to Fuller House, another reprised sitcom that was cheap and feel-good and as such, ran for five seasons at 75 episodes. Season 2 of That ‘90s Show will reportedly up the total episodes to 16 rather than 10, but that seems likely to be split into two 8 episode parts, if I had to guess. In any case, some rare, easy good about a Netflix renewal.

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