32 Years Ago Today, A Sitcom’s Forgotten Sequel Series Ended After Just Nineteen Episodes

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Creating a successful spin-off show is tough, even for huge hits. Sometimes they fail because they only include a few characters from the original series, and other times, the new show changes things so much that it loses what made the first one so good. Occasionally, even when the core elements are still there, the spin-off just doesn’t connect with viewers. Thirty-two years ago today, a sequel to a very popular sitcom ended after only 19 episodes.

In 1993, NBC launched a sequel to the popular 90s show Saved by the Bell, called Saved by the Bell: The College Years. They were optimistic about its success and even gave it a prime-time slot. However, despite bringing back several original characters, the show was cancelled after only one season of 19 episodes. Instead of a second season, the storyline about Zack and Kelly’s marriage was finished in a TV movie, which was later divided into four episodes and shown as part of the series in reruns.

Why Didn’t Saved by the Bell: The College Years Last Longer Than One Season?

Saved by the Bell was a hugely popular show in the 1990s, and many people grew up watching it every Saturday morning. So, it was natural to want more after the original series ended. That’s why producer Peter Engel brought back some of the original cast to create a sequel called The College Years.

The idea for the show seemed promising: fans could continue following their beloved characters as they navigated college life, while still enjoying the playful antics that made the original series so popular. Most of the original cast returned, including Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani Thiessen, Mario Lopez, and Dustin Diamond. However, Lark Voorhies didn’t appear until the very last episode, making only a brief cameo, and Elizabeth Berkley didn’t participate at all.

The show introduced several new characters, like Leslie Burke played by Anne Tremolo, Alex Tabor played by Kiersten Warren, and Bob Golic as the resident advisor. While these new faces had some good scenes, the first episode felt a bit crowded with yet another newcomer, Danielle Marks, played by Essence Atkins. Atkins only appeared in the pilot; Tiffani Thiessen returned as Kelly Kapowski starting with the second episode and remained with the show for the rest of the series.

While it was great to have Thiessen return, the show still didn’t feel complete without Lisa and Jessie. This became even more apparent when Voorhies reappeared in the final episode and the movie Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas. In a 2016 interview with The Wrap, Engel admitted he wished he’d included the entire original cast in The College Years. He said, “I should have brought all six of them to college. I really should have insisted on it, and I didn’t. That was my decision, and I think it was a mistake.”

Although the show aired during prime time, it probably would have been more successful if it had stayed in its original Saturday morning time slot. That’s where the original fans were used to watching, and they likely would have kept tuning in to see what happened to the characters in college if it had remained there.

Although the show was canceled, it received a proper conclusion thanks to NBC commissioning a 90-minute TV movie to wrap up the story and serve as the official finale for both The College Years and the original series. It’s great that the show got a real ending, and surprisingly, several characters—including Jessie—later returned for the enjoyable reboot series in the 2020s to continue their journeys.

You can stream Saved by the Bell: The College Years right now for free on Tubi.

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2026-02-08 19:16