Original That '70s Show Actors' Sequel Return Status Follows A 26-Year-Old Sitcom Tradition

Summary Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher will not be returning as Jackie and Kelso in That '90s Show season 2.

The absence of Jay Kelso's parents in That '90s Show season 2 mirrors the limited appearances from most of the gang's parents in That '70s Show.

Jay can still address some of the lingering questions about Kelso's daughter Betsy and brother Casey in That '90s Show season 2.

The status of two That '70s Show characters' return in That '90s Show season 2 actually follows a tradition from the original sitcom. After spending the summer of 1995 with her grandparents, Eric and Donna's 15-year-old daughter, Leia Forman, will be reuniting with her new friends in Point Place in That '90s Show season 2. Netflix has confirmed that That '90s Show season 2 will arrive sometime in the summer of 2024, with the whole main cast of That '90s Show expected to return.

Most of the core '70s gang appeared in That '90s Show season 1 in some capacity (except Hyde due to Danny Masterson's criminal conviction). With a new season on the horizon, the question remains if any of the original That '70s Show cast members will be making cameos again in season 2. Wilmer Valderrama already cast doubt about his return as Fez in That '90s Show season 2; now, a new update has been shared about the status of two other That '70s Show characters that introduces yet another parallel between the spinoff and its predecessor.

That '70s Show Characters Who Returned In That '90s Show Season 1 Character Actor Episodes Role In Spinoff Red Forman Kurtwood Smith 1-10 Leia's Grandfather Kitty Forman Debra Jo Rupp 1-10 Leia's Grandmother Eric Forman Topher Grace 1 Leia's Father Donna Pinciotti Laura Prepon 1, 5, 10 Leia's Mother Fez Wilmer Valderrama 2, 3, 10 Sherri's Boyfriend Michael Kelso Ashton Kutcher 1 Jay's Father Jackie Burkhart Mila Kunis 1 Jay's Mother Bob Pinciotti Don Stark 6 Leia's Grandfather Leo Tommy Chong 2, 9 Point Place's Resident Stoner Fenton Jim Rash 10 Sherri's Landlord/Fez's Nemesis

That '90s Show season 1 is available to stream on Netflix.

Related That '90s Show Season 1 Ending: What's Next For Every Character That '90s Show's season 1 finale leaves plenty of loose ends untied for Leia and the gang as summer 1995 comes to an end in Point Place.

Ashton Kutcher's Kelso & Mila Kunis' Jackie Won't Be Back In That '90s Show Season 2

Kelso & Jackie Were Revealed To Be The Parents Of Leia's Love Interest Jay In That '90s Show Season 1

It's been confirmed that That '70s Show stars Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher won't have cameos in That '90s Show season 2. Kunis and Kutcher played on-and-off love interests Jackie Burkhart and Michael Kelso on That '70s Show long before they got married in real life. While Jackie and Kelso did not end up together at the end of That '70s Show, the offscreen couple reunited onscreen in the series premiere of That '90s Show, confirming their on-again relationship status and revealing they're the parents of Leia's new friend, Jay (Mace Coronel).

While Kutcher and Kunis' brief appearance in That '90s Show was a fun throwback that established another link between the old '70s gang and the new crop of kids, Kunis confirmed that she and Kutcher won't be back for round two. "We did our thing," Kunis told EW, "and they introduced our son in the show." Similar sentiments were expressed by Valderrama when asked if he would return as Fez in That '90s Show season 2. "I feel like I did it," he told Collider. "And...it was a lot of fun...But I think it’s really the kids’ show."

Jay's Parents Being Absent From Future That '90s Show Seasons Follows The Original Sitcom's Tradition

Most Of The Gang's Parents Rarely Made Appearances In That '70s Show

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Kelso and Jackie's absences in That '90s Show season 2 actually continue a pattern from That '70s Show. Other than the Formans and the Pinciottis, it was very rare to see any of the gang's parents in That '70s Show. Hyde's mother Edna (Katey Segal) only appeared onscreen in the season 1 episode "Career Day" before abandoning him, and his absent (presumed) father Bud (Robert Hays) only returned for two episodes in season 3. Hyde's biological father, William "WB" Barnett (Tim Reid), wasn't introduced until season 7 and went on to appear in a total of nine episodes.

Edna Hyde's voice could also be heard offscreen in the season 1 episodes, "Prom Night" and "Punk Chick."

Like Hyde's mom, Kelso's father, John (Francis Guinan) also only appeared in "Career Day," and his mother never appeared on the show at all. Jackie's mother, Pam, only appeared in one episode of season 1 (where she was played by Eve Plumb) before the character was recast with Brooke Shields in season 6, at which point she reunited with Jackie and started dating Donna's dad, Bob (Don Stark). Jackie's father, Jack (Paul Kreppel), only appeared in three episodes of season 1 and was later imprisoned for bribery and embezzlement in season 5.

Of course, Fez's parents weren't expected to make an appearance since he's a (seemingly permanent) foreign exchange student, though it's never revealed where his family is from. Even Donna's mother Midge (Tanya Roberts), who was a main character for the first three seasons of That '70s Show, disappeared in season 4 and only returned as a special guest in select episodes of seasons 6 and 7. Only Red, Kitty, and Bob appeared consistently throughout That '70s Show's eight-season run.

The spinoff is already mirroring the sporadic parental appearances in the original show, so it's even more fitting that Jackie and Kelso won't be returning as Jay's parents in That '90s Show season 2.

Red and Kitty continue to act as the principal parental figures in That '90s Show (except as grandparents this time) with Sherri Runck (Andrea Anders), their next-door neighbor and the mother of Leia's friends Nate and Gwen, filling Bob's role. Neither Nate's nor Gwen's father has made an onscreen appearance in That '90s Show, nor have the parents of either of Leia's friends, Ozzie and Nikki. The spinoff is already mirroring the sporadic parental appearances in the original show, so it's even more fitting that Jackie and Kelso won't be returning as Jay's parents in That '90s Show season 2.

Nate and Gwen are half-siblings with different fathers.

That '90s Show Season 2 Still Needs To Answer Important Kelso & Jackie Questions (Despite Their Absences)

Jay Kelso Can Clear Up The Mysteries Surrounding His Parents In The Spinoff

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Even though Jackie and Kelso won't be returning for That '90s Show season 2, there are still tons of lingering questions from That '70s Show about the Kelso lineage that have yet to be addressed in the spinoff. For instance, That '90s Show has yet to acknowledge Kelso's daughter, Betsy, who was born in That '70s Show season 7 and lives with her mother Brooke in Chicago.

Betsy would be around the same age as her half-brother Jay in That '90s Show, but she's never been brought up by any of the characters. Rather than retcon the existence of Kelso's first-born, Jay should mention her in That '90s Show season 2 to clear up her whereabouts or even have her make an appearance.

One Kelso family member who definitely still exists in That '90s Show is Michael's older brother Casey (Luke Wilson). In That '90s Show, Donna tells Leia that she used to date Casey Kelso while she and Eric were broken up in That '70s Show. This Casey mention in season 1 cemented his continued existence in the franchise's universe, but it's unknown where he is or what he's up to. Since Jackie and Michael won't be returning, maybe Luke Wilson can reprise his role as Casey Kelso in That '90s Show season 2 and pay a visit to his nephew Jay.