What's up with Jessie and Slater on the new Saved by the Bell ? 'There are flickers'
Peacock
It's been 30 years since Saved by the Bell went off the air and former high school sweethearts, Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley Lauren) and A.C. Slater (Mario Lopez), still don't have their relationship figured out.
In Peacock's 10 episode revival of the same name, currently available to stream in its entirety, Dr. Spano and Slater are working together at their alma mater, Bayside High, and let's just say it's complicated.
"When we see Jessie and Slater again, they're in very different places of their lives," series executive producer and showrunner Tracey Wigfield tells EW. "Jessie had some success; she wrote a bunch of books and got a bunch of degrees before she went back to work at Bayside. And she went back to help students there and to be close to her son, Jamie (Belmont Cameli), who is a student there. Then with Slater, we see him go back as the athletic coach not so long after we see him in The College Years and he's sort of been stuck there and a little less happy with the way his life turned out.
"But Jessie is married. So she and Slater have this friendship but they still have this contentious relationship. Will they or won't they?"
Peacock
Berkley Lauren is fully aware how much fans of the original want a relationship to flourish between Jessie and Slater — and it sounds like she's shipping them too.
"How can there not be?! We can't be disappointing the fans!" Berkley Lauren says when asked if there still could be something between them. "Just as things start crumbling in Jessie's personal life in the revival, she's just come back to Bayside and there are flickers, and of course, the dynamic is still there. Listen, what I love is that I got to act with the people that I love the most from my childhood. When we shot the original, we really were like 15 years old when we first started. Working with Mario and our wonderful chemistry and dynamic was such an incredible thing to jump back into. He and I have maintained a friendship throughout the years and we've worked together. To be able to drop back into those roles and still have that crackle in the way we interact, and the rhythm and the banter is all still there."
Lopez says everything with Slater was on the up-and-up because he knows Jessie is going through some personal things. But he is confident that no matter what, Jessie will always be able to count on Slater as a friend.
"When we see Jessie in the revival, she's married," he explains. "They've always been friends and she knows she will always be able to count on him. He cares about her and they have a lot of history. We'll have to wait and see what happens."
Related content: