Mila Kunis & Ashton Kutcher Ditch That 90s Show With Lackluster Excuse
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher aren't entertaining the idea of returning to the "That '90s Show."
TV viewers were introduced to Point Place, Wisconsin, when the show's predecessor, "That '70s Show," debuted on Fox in 1998. Taking place in that titular time period, the show followed teens Eric (Topher Grace), Donna (Laura Prepon), Fez (Wilmer Valderrama), Jackie (Kunis), and Michael (Kutcher) as they navigated high school life. Following its initial premiere, the show ran for eight seasons and catapulted the careers of its cast. When speaking about the show's success, Carsey-Werner Productions exec Jim Kraus told The New York Times, "The show was a secret pleasure for Fox's core audience, the 18-34 concentration of viewers. ... No matter what night it aired — and it moved constantly — viewers found it and followed it."
Nearly two decades after the show ended, fans were brought back to Point Place in the official Netflix spinoff "That 90s Show." This time, the series follows the teenage daughter of Eric and Donna, Leia Forman (Callie Haverda), as she travels to Wisconsin to spend the summer with her grandparents Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) and Red (Kurtwood Smith). While the series follows a new cast, the first season featured a mini "That '70s Show" reunion, with Kunis and Kutcher returning. "Once people saw the material, and they knew that there was creative continuity with me and the Turners [co-creators of That '70s Show with Mark Brazill], everyone was very easily excited to support the show," co-creator Greg Mettler told Movie Webb. However, it seems Kunis and Kutcher won't be booking a return trip to Wisconsin anytime soon. According to Kunis, they've already made their contribution and are moving on.
Mila Kunis doesn't seem interested in returning, and she isn't alone.
Ahead of the summer 2024 release of "That '90s Show" season two, Mila Kunis shared her thoughts on whether she and her husband, Ashton Kutcher, would return, and it's not good news. While attending Paleyfest's 25th-anniversary celebration for "Family Guy," the "Friends With Benefits" star told ET, "No. I mean, we did our thing, and they introduced our son in the show, and that was, you know, [enough]." Kunis and Kutcher aren't the only ones who have seemingly closed the door on any plans to return to the series. In a March 2024 interview with Collider, Wilmer Valderrama hinted that his time in Point Place has come to an end. "I don't know... I mean I feel like I did it. And I think it was beautiful, it was a lot of fun, you know. But I think it's really the kids' show," he explained.
Despite Kunis, Kutcher, and Valderrama's absence, the second season of "That '90s Show" will see the return of another "That '70s Show" alum, Seth Green, who starred as Eric Forman's nemesis Mitch Miller. In the aforementioned interview with his "Family Guy" co-star, the "Robot Chicken" creator said, "I've already done an episode of it, and I'm going back to do another one."
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher's run on That 90s Show was short but sweet
While their time in the "That 70s Show" universe has come to an end, filming the first season seemed to be an enjoyable experience for Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher. "It was weird to shoot together, I will tell you. It made me super nervous," she revealed to Access in September 2022. "Oh my God, I was more nervous doing that than anything else in my career — I was to shoot with my husband on the set of '70s Show. Cause the set is exactly the same." Kunis went on to describe the filming experience as trippy, adding that it was surreal to return to the set where she and Kutcher had met.
Kutcher echoed similar sentiments during a June 2022 interview with Variety, describing the return as bizarre. "It was really nostalgic to be back on the set. It's all the same folks that made 'That '70s Show, so it was pretty bizarre," he explained. Even though it was a weird trip down memory lane, Kutcher said it felt right to return to Point Place for the spin-off. "Mila and I were contemplating it. We thought, 'Listen, we're only in the position that we're in because of that show, so let's just go back and do this, " he added. "We just went back and had fun for a week. It was so random and fun."