1 9 9 8 – 2 0 0 6 (USA)
199 x 22 minute episodes
1 x 60 minute episode
Set in the sleepy rural town of Point Place, Wisconsin, That ’70s Show focussed on the coming of age of a group of teenagers, including lovestruck Eric Forman (Topher Grace), his dishy neighbour and friend Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon), foreign exchange student Fez (Wilmer Valderrama), the supercool conspiracy theorist Hyde (Danny Masterson), good-looking but dim-witted Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) and his pampered and narcissistic girlfriend Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis).
Along with their friends and parents, the kids experienced for the first time much of what is now regarded as a decade of kitsch: disco music, Star Wars obsessions, bell bottoms, early video games, and marijuana use.
Eric constantly tested the authority of his gruff, austere father, World War II veteran Red (Kurtwood Smith), and his eager-to-please mother, Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp). He was also always trying to get the nerve to go past first base with Donna.
An unexpected hit for the Fox network, the series ran for eight seasons. No matter what night it aired – and it moved constantly – viewers found it and followed it.
Sadly, after eight years of blasting out Cheap Trick and testing the limits of polyester leisurewear, the kids couldn’t avoid the inevitable – 1980!
The one-hour series finale, which took place on New Year’s Eve 1979, concluded 200 episodes of groovy good times for the group of Wisconsin teenagers.
A short-lived UK version for ITV called Days Like These was broadcast in 1999.
In 2023, a sequel/spinoff series, That ’90s Show (pictured below), was created and aired on Netflix. In it, Leia Forman (Callie Haverda), the teenage daughter of Eric and Donna, visited Point Place and stayed with her grandparents, Red and Kitty, for the summer of 1995. Many familiar faces appeared, including Topher Grace, Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Wilmer Valderrama and Tommy Chong.
Also in 2023, Danny Masterson (who had played stoner Steven Hyde for the eight seasons of That ’70s Show) was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison after being convicted of two counts of rape between 2001 and 2003.
Eric Forman Topher Grace Donna Pinciotti
Laura Prepon Michael Kelso
Ashton Kutcher Jackie Burkhart
Mila Kunis Steven Hyde
Danny Masterson Fez
Wilmer Valderrama Red Forman
Kurtwood Smith Kitty Forman
Debra Jo Rupp Laurie Forman
Lisa Robin Kelly Bob Pinciotti
Don Stark Midge Pinciotti
Tanya Roberts Leo
Tommy Chong Randy Pearson
Josh Meyers
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Along with their friends and parents, the kids experienced for the first time much of what is now regarded as a decade of kitsch: disco music, Star Wars obsessions, bell bottoms, early video games, and marijuana use.
