'I was with him so long': Kurtwood Smith 'returns' to Wisconsin as Red on 'That '90s Show'

Kurtwood Smith is happy to be back together with Red Forman in Point Place, Wisconsin.

"In some ways, (he’s) my favorite character because I was with him so long," said Smith, the veteran actor from New Lisbon, Wisconsin, who plays the irascible Red on "That '90s Show." All 10 episodes of the follow-up to "That '70s Show" are now streaming on Netflix.

"And there are things about him that remind of myself. I really enjoy being around that character."

Airing for eight seasons from 1998-2006 (and ever since in reruns and on streaming services), "That '70s Show" followed the misadventures of 1970s teenager Eric Forman (Topher Grace) and his friends in fictional Point Place, abetted and sometimes thwarted by Eric's parents, Red (Smith) and Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp).

"That '90s Show" fast-forwards 20 years to 1995. Eric and Donna's (Laura Prepon) daughter, Leia (Callie Haverda), visits her grandparents for the summer and makes a bunch of new friends — and spends a lot of time with them in the same basement where Eric and his friends hung out.

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Grace and Prepon make a few appearances during the first season, as do many of the cast members of the original series, including Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Wilmer Valderrama. But Smith and Rupp get as much screen time as the new kids do.

A (slightly) different Red Forman

In a way, "That '90s Show" is about Red and Kitty "getting to re-examine their lives and their relationship, too," said Smith, 79.

Red isn't the same person he was in "That '70s Show." Where the original Red was almost always sharply critical, Red 2.0 offers a hand as often as he dishes out an insult.

"He’s 20 years older; now he’s retired," Smith said of the "'90s Show" evolution of the character. "But I think we begin to realize that he just comes to appreciate (his granddaughter and her friends) being around. Kitty says, 'You’ve got that spark in your eye again.' Ultimately that’s true, and certainly I think he ultimately comes to feel that way. … He comes to appreciate that excitement that used to be in his life from a house full of kids."

For Smith, the transition from the old series to the new was helped by the fact that two of the writers for "That '90s Show," Bonnie and Terry Turner, created the original, and that Gregg Mettler, who had writing credits on 15 episodes of "That '70s Show," is the new series' showrunner.

"I thought the script was right on the money," Smith said. "Then when we went down and saw the sets, it was just … boom!"

Busy with 'The Dropout,' 'Patriot'

It's not like Smith had been in storage since "That '70s Show" ended. In the years between the old series and the new one, he's done a slew of voice work in animated series; had roles in different parts of the Marvel, DC and "Star Trek" universes; and played major roles in several other TV series, including the award-winning limited series "The Dropout" and another set-in-Wisconsin streaming series, Amazon Prime Video's "Patriot." (In 2022, the latter even spawned a podcast called "The Integral Principles of the Structural Dynamics of Flow," based on Smith's character, Leslie Claret, with Smith repeating the role.)

Before "That '70s Show," his career was equally varied, although he often ended up playing the villain, in movies such as the original "RoboCop" and "Dead Poets Society."

"That ‘70s Show," Smith said, “kind of saved me from a career that was only focused on bad guys. That allowed me to broaden my perspective.”

Another benefit of returning to that universe, he added, was the new show's young cast.

"While we were shooting, they ranged from 13 to 17 — much younger than the original cast," Smith said. "And they’re just hard-working, talented, fun to be around — just the best."

Working with Rupp again as his TV spouse was even easier.

"I think we make a pretty good team. I think we have good chemistry on the show," Smith said. "When Debra Jo goes off on something, I know where she’s going, and vice versa."

One thing that was definitely different this time around was the workload. "That '90s Show's" inaugural season — no word yet on whether there will be more — runs for 10 episodes.

"When we were doing the original show, we would do 25," Smith said. "It just seems like we were done with 10 and it was like, 'What do you mean, it’s over?'"

Back in Wisconsin, again

While "That '90s Show," like the original series, is set in Wisconsin, it's not really about Wisconsin. But for Smith, it felt like it was there.

RELATED:27 TV shows set in Wisconsin places (some of them fictional)

"It was always in the back of my head that that’s where we were," he said. He reminded that the very first episode of the original series centered on Eric trying to take his friends in the family's Vista Cruiser to see a Todd Rundgren concert in Milwaukee.

Smith was born in New Lisbon, in central Wisconsin. Although he moved to California when he was 10, he still came back to visit family in the area; although his family had lived in town, he said, many of his relatives lived on farms nearby.

"I have really fond memories of Wisconsin," he said.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kurtwood Smith glad to be 'back' in Wisconsin for 'That '90s Show'