What Really Happened Behind The Scenes Of That '70s Show
While the premise of That '70s Show focuses on a group of teenage friends hanging out, a lot more than that went on behind the scenes. You'd be surprised by what happened when the cameras stopped rolling. This celebrated show comes with a collection of tales filled with romance, regret, and resentment. Let's take a trip to Eric Forman's basement and find out what was happening behind the scenes of That '70s Show.
Love far from first sight
Fans think it's sweet that Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, who played on-again, off-again Michael Kelso and Jackie Burkhart on That '70's Show, are now a real-life couple. But back when the show was in production, the two of them actually getting hitched seemed like unlikely. A source told Radar Online the two "despised each other," while working on the show. How the two hooked up in real life is interesting too. After Kutcher and Demi Moore's ugly split, Kunis decided to "bury the hatchet" and contacted her former co-star. Good job, Jackie.
Midge runs away
Viewers were surprised when Donna Pinciotti's mom, Midge (portrayed by Tanya Roberts), left during the show's fourth season. Sure, Bob and Midge were a mismatched couple, but she wasn't the type to just abandon her family. While her character may have gone down a shameful path, there's a valid reason as to why Roberts left the show. According to E! True Hollywood Story, her husband of 30 years, Barry Roberts, was diagnosed with a terminal illness. She decided it was more important to care for her husband and spend as much time with him as possible, which we totally understand.
Two Laurie Formans
Lisa Robin Kelly, the first actress to play Eric Forman's sister Laurie, also had to leave the show during production, but it wasn't for reasons as touching as Roberts'. In 2003, Kelly left the show quite suddenly due to a miscarriage and alcohol abuse problems, according to ABC News. After she left the show, her substance abuse problems unfortunately worsened. Eventually, she got things under control enough to return for a bit in season 5. However, her return didn't last, and she was eventually replaced by Christina Moore in season 6. There's no happy ending here, as Kelly ultimately overdosed and died in 2013 while in rehab.
Leo's disappearance
Tommy Chong's Leo Chingkwake quickly became a fan favorite character on That '70s Show, which is why his absence in seasons 5 and 6 was so troubling. Again, real-life troubles affected the show. At the time, Chong was serving a jail sentence for selling bongs and waterpipes through his company, Nice Dreams. Chong agreed to serve time as part of a plea deal so his son and wife could avoid prosecution. After serving his sentence, Chong returned as Leo, and the hilarity ensued.
Eric's buddy
Joseph Gordon-Levitt's one episode role as Buddy made a big splash when he debuted in 1998. The character who first appeared in the aptly titled episode "Eric's Buddy" was intended to be recurring. Unfortunately, it seems viewers didn't care for Buddy and Eric engaging in what's thought to be the first homosexual kiss ever on prime-time TV. Shortly thereafter, plans for more Buddy were scrapped. A decade later, Gordon-Levitt told The Advocate he's "proud" of being part of that moment, despite Topher Grace being a horrible kisser.
Topher Grace supposedly hated the rest of the cast
The biggest behind-the-scenes story deals with Topher Grace, who played Eric Forman. According to E! True Hollywood Story, Grace was originally set to be the star of the show, and hints of this can be seen throughout his tenure. Many storylines revolved around Forman and his family. As the rest of the characters became more popular, That '70s Show became more of an ensemble piece. Supposedly, this didn't sit too well with Grace and may have caused some problems with the cast. While no definitive proof of resentment exists, hints of it can be seen elsewhere...
Ashton Kutcher got Punk'd
At the height of That '70s Show's fame, Ashton Kutcher started working on his own TV series, Punk'd. In this show, Kutcher played practical, and sometimes elaborate, jokes on other celebrities and his close friends. Included in Kutcher's list of victims are his castmates Mila Kunis, Laura Prepon, Danny Masterson, and Wilmer Valderrama. As noted in E! True Hollywood Story, Topher Grace is glaringly absent from this list. The older cast members were never pranked, but that's probably more to do with the age difference. Clearly, this was no accident. More evidence of Grace's displeasure can be seen in how he left the show.
Topher Grace and Ashton Kutcher both left
As their separate movie careers grew, both Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace left That '70s Show around the same time to answer Hollywood's call. Kutcher left during season 8, hanging around for 4 episodes to give closure to his character, and most likely not wanting to say goodbye to his friends. Grace, on the other hand, made a quick exit, leaving at the end of season 7. It seems like someone couldn't wait to vamoose. Believe it or not, that's not the last time Grace acted like he didn't care for his castmates.
Filming the final episode
Topher Grace's appearance in the final episode of That '70s Show is strange. He appears towards the end, as if he didn't want to be there. Kutcher, for his part, returns earlier and participates in the story a bit. According to E! True Hollywood Story, after filming ended for the series finale, the rest of the cast took time to say goodbye to one another, while Grace made a beeline for his car and bolted. Maybe he left quickly to start working on his unforgettable role in Spider-Man 3.
Years later
It's been a long time since That '70s Show wrapped, and the stories of Topher Grace hating his castmates may have been sensationalized by the media. In 2013, Danny Masterson posted an Instagram photo of his former castmates singing around a piano—Grace even has his arm around Kutcher in the pic. Grace described the event to Us Weekly in 2015, "A year and a half ago, we all got together and had a blast... We all love each other." Looks like everything is all good in the circle, so we better listen to "In The Street" as we reminisce about the show some more.