What really happened when the final bell rang on Saved by the Bell? Onscreen, the students of Bayside High School were close friends, romantic interests, and confidantes, but off-screen, there were tensions brewing and endless drama -- at least according to Lifetime.
The television network is leading The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story, a behind-the-scenes look at the beloved 1990s program, recasting the original stars with young actors.
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Lifetime bills the TV movie as "a nostalgic look back at the '90s TV show that changed the landscape of Saturday mornings with America’s favorite teens," which "delves into the experiences of six unknown young actors placed into the Hollywood spotlight, exposing the challenges of growing up under public scrutiny while trying to maintain the squeaky clean image of their popular characters both on and off-screen."
The first clip from The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story made its debut on Thursday, Aug. 7, teasing the Sept. 1 premiere of the flick. Set to Bell Biv DeVoe's hit 1990 single "Poison," the video shows the Saved by the Bell cast shooting promotional images for the show and hints at tensions between the actors.
Newcomer Alyssa Lynch becomes Tiffani-Amber Thiessen (who played Kelly Kapowski), and is shown flirting with male lead Dylan Everett (Degrassi: The Next Generation), who does his best Zack Morris to play Mark-Paul Gosselaar. The pair poses for photos together as Thiessen makes Lisa Turtle portrayer Lark Voorhies (Taylor Russell McKenzie) jealous, expressing dismay over her crush on Gosselaar.
Voorhies is comforted by Elizabeth Berkley (Supernatural star Tiera Skovbye), who tries to keep the peace between her female costars.
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When the ladies step into the spotlight for their photoshoot, tension heats up between the male stars. In classic A.C. Slater style, Mario Lopez (Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones actor Julian Works) is shown doing push-ups on the side of the set. He inspired some competition from Screech actor Dustin Diamond (Shameless star Sam Kindseth), who tries to show off his strength, as well.
The original stars of the series have said little publicly about the Lifetime movie. When the project was announced in June, Lopez tweeted simply, "Really???" Berkley, 42, spoke to Us Weekly exclusively about the project on Thursday, Aug. 7.
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"I am not really curious about it to tell you the truth," she tells Us. "We know the lives we lead and it was so innocent. Our parents were on set with us every day and it was so innocent. It was such a different time so I have no idea… it's not our real journey on that show together. It was a really sweet time so I have no idea what it's going to be."
Watch the first clip of The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story above!
