Saved by the Bell's Dustin Diamond Says You Can't Do a Proper Revival Without Screech — Watch Video
Lisa Turtle’s not-so-secret admirer is, unsurprisingly, unlikely to appear in the Saved by the Bell revival.
Dustin Diamond, who played Samuel “Screech” Powers on the original series, has told TMZ that no one has reached out to him about a role in the highly anticipated follow-up, which is set to premiere on NBCU’s Peacock streaming service later this year.
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“Out of all the cast members, I was in… the most [episodes], and that’s not the case anymore if I’m not in the new one,” Diamond said. “And how do you have Saved by the Bell without Screech, right? … We should all be a part of this.”
Diamond went on to pitch his idea for what Screech would be up to in the revival: “Screech should be dealing with parenthood and dealing with his kids, and finding out that… maybe he wasn’t a barrel full of roses to deal with growing up.”
As previously reported, the SBTB revival is set to focus on a new crop of students, including the offspring of Zack Morris and Jessie Spano. Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley are set to reprise their respective roles, as A.C. Slater and Jessie, in a series-regular capacity, while Mark-Paul Gosselaar (who is currently starring on ABC’s mixed-ish) will guest-star in three episodes as now-Governor Morris.
Tiffani Thiessen is also expected back in “some capacity,” as Kelly.
As for Diamond, well, he might not be his former castmates’ favorite person. Back in 2009, he published a tell-all titled Behind the Bell, which included sordid details about his co-stars hooking up and using drugs while on set of the NBC sitcom. It would eventually serve as the source material for Lifetime’s 2014 made-for-TV movie, The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story. In 2016, Diamond appeared on Dr. Oz and apologized for Behind the Bell, alleging that a ghostwriter penned the tell-all on his behalf.
There’s also the fact that back in 2015, Diamond was sentenced to four months in prison for stabbing a man in a Wisconsin bar. He served three months time and was released on probation. When he was later found to be in violation of his parole, he was thrown back in jail for an additional two days.
And who can forget that in 2006, Diamond released the infamous sex tape Screeched: Saved by the Smell? (“Zoinks!”)
All told, Diamond appeared in 248 episodes of the SBTB franchise, having originated the character in the short-lived Disney Channel series Good Morning, Miss Bliss. As one of only four cast members to make the leap to NBC’s Saved by the Bell, he continued to portray Screech in the spinoffs The College Years and The New Class. He also appeared in both made-for-TV movies, Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style and Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas.
In addition to Diamond, fellow Bayside alumni Lark Voorhies (aka Lisa Turtle) has said that she has not approached about the SBTB revival.
TVLine has reached out to Universal Television for comment.
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