Saved by the Bell cast: Where are they now?

With anticipation building for the return of Saved by the Bell when NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock launches in 2020, EW opens up the good old Bayside High School yearbook to see how much the original cast has changed over past couple of decades, and takes attendance on will be returning for the reboot.

After popping up in episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Wonder Years, and Punky Brewster, Mark-Paul Gosselaar landed a starring role in Saved by the Bell as Zack Morris. He played the high school preppy for three years, also bringing Zack to the short-lived Saved by the Bell: The College Years, Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas, and an episode of Saved by the Bell: The New Class. He wrapped his run as the character in the '90s, going on to land small-screen roles in Hyperion Bay and D.C.. In 2001, Gosselaar joined NYPD Blue as Det. John Clark, Jr. He spent four years in the role and followed it up with turns in Commander in Chief, John from Cincinnati, and Raising the Bar. In recent years, he starred as Peter Bash in Franklin & Bash, joined the beloved 2016 series Pitch as Mike Lawson, and appeared on Nobodies, The Passage, and mixed-ish. And yes, Gosselaar will be in the 2020 return of Saved by the Bell.

After appearing in episodes of a.k.a. Pablo and Kids Incorporated, Mario Lopez found his spot in Saved by the Bell's Bayside High as resident jock A.C. Slater. He continued the role in Saved by the Bell: The College Years, Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas, and Saved by the Bell: The New Class. Soon after, he joined Pacific Blue as Bobby Cruz, wrapping the gig in 2000. He then did an extended stint on The Bold and the Beautiful in 2006, played Dr. Mike Hamoui on Nip/Tuck, and lent his voice to the children's program, The Chica Show. Lopez has largely focused on unscripted television in recent years, serving as a host, reporter, and correspondent on shows like Entertainment Tonight, America's Best Dance Crew, The X Factor, and Extra, but that doesn’t mean he’s left the sitcom world behind. In February 2020, he debuted the comedy The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia which Lopez co-created with Seth Kurland, telling EW,  “I am excited for the opportunity to partner with Netflix to tell a universal, family-friendly story with a Latin flavor.” 

Lopez shared a sneak peek of what fans can expect from Slater and Saved by the Bell reboot earlier this year.

Elizabeth Berkley landed an early role as Saved by the Bell's Jessie Spano, an involved student with big dreams. After saying goodbye to the character in the early '90s, Berkley hit the big screen in Showgirls, The First Wives Club, The Real Blonde, and Any Given Sunday. In the 2000s, the actress popped up in episodes of NYPD Blue, Titus, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The L Word, and CSI: Miami. She returned to the small screen in recent years, competing on Dancing with the Stars and appearing in episodes of Melissa & Joey and New Girl. Coming full circle, Berkley is returning for the reboot of Saved by the Bell. To quote Jesse, “Can you believe that was like 30 years ago?”

Lark Voorhies enrolled at Bayside High as the popular, well-dressed Lisa Turtle. She held the role in the series and its spin-offs, going on to join Days of Our Lives as Wendy Reardon. She continued her '90s soap opera work as The Bold and the Beautiful's Jasmine Malone, and went on to earn credits for How to Be a Player and How High and episodes of In the House and The Parkers. She largely stepped back from acting in the early 2010s, instead devoting her time to writing books. In an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show in early 2020, Voorhies said she was “hurt” by being excluded from the reboot and not being invited when the SBTB cast got together.

Tiffani Thiessen landed her first major role as Saved by the Bell's Kelly Kapowski. She played the high school hottie throughout the series and in the spin-off projects, also popping up in episodes of Charles in Charge, Married with Children, and Blossom. She then landed a mid-'90s gig as Valerie Malone in Beverly Hills, 90210, and went on to earn credits for Ivansxtc and The Ladies Man, and episodes of Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, Just Shoot Me!, Fastlane, Good Morning, Miami, and What About Brian. Thiessen wrapped her five-year run as White Collar's Elizabeth Burke in 2014, and immediately kicked off a gig hosting her own Cooking Channel show. In addition to being part of Saved by the Bell reboot, fans can also currently catch Thiessen on Netflix’s Alexa & Katie.

Then a relative unknown, Dustin Diamond signed on to play the geeky Samuel "Screech" Powers in Saved by the Bell, continuing the role in Saved by the Bell: The College Years, Saved by the Bell: The New Class, and Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas. Diamond then spent the 2000s picking up credits for independent films and playing himself in movies like Pauly Shore Is Dead and Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. The actor subsequently published a tell-all, Behind the Bell, which he would later claim was ghostwritten, and ran into personal problems in recent years, culminating in a short prison sentence. Diamond told TMZ in February 2020 he had not been approached to appear in the reboot of Saved by the Bell.

After kicking off the '80s with appearances in episodes of CHiPs, Knots Landing, and The Dukes of Hazzard, Dennis Haskins joined Saved by the Bell as Bayside's principal, Mr. Belding. He played the educator for more than 10 years, starring in the spinoff Saved by the Bell: The New Class after the original series' wrap. He then spent the 2000s filling his résumé with smaller roles in The West Wing, Max Keeble's Big Move, and 7th Heaven. In recent years, Haskins popped up in episodes of Men of a Certain Age, The Bold and the Beautiful, Victorious, New Girl, and Hot in Cleveland in addition to appearing in films like A Million Ways to Die in the West and Bennett’s Song. As of this time he's not slated to be part of the reboot.