The Saved by the Bell reboot managed to bring much of the OG cast together with a new cast of Bayside High students. Many of the SBTB alums, including Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley, helped to incorporate the nostalgia factor. The most obvious omission was the beloved nerd Screech, played by Dustin Diamond. While Screech Powers was referenced a few times, Diamond didn’t make an onscreen appearance. Unfortunately, the actor will never get a chance to appear on the show after his death. But that won’t stop the series from acknowledging his passing. The Peacock revival will pay tribute to the late actor in a distinct way for Season 2.
Dustin Diamond’s cancer diagnosis and death threw the possibility of Screech’s return out the window. The series wanted to acknowledge how important Diamond was to the legacy of the beloved show, and Saved by the Bell creator Tracy Wigfield wanted his presence to be felt in Season 2. The SBTB revival showrunner spilled to Variety what the reboot has planned for the late SBTB alum.
At the beginning of this season, we already were coming into writing Season 2 [where] obviously Dustin was one thing, but we also were like in a pandemic and in general in the first episode, everyone was feeling the same sense of everyone understands how heavy this last year has been. It would have been wrong to not acknowledge that in a real way and to not have our OG characters mourning this character that we’ll never get to see again. That, I wanted to put on the screen, but I just wanted to make sure we were being as sensitive as possible. There was a real guy who had people who loved him. You don’t want to make any jokes or talk about it in any way that might hurt anyone’s feelings.
While Screech was pure comedy gold, it’s nice to know the tribute will be a touching one. At least, Tracy Wigfield and the Saved by the Bell team will highlight what made Dustin Diamond important to the series. Being that Diamond never appeared on the reboot, Wigfield didn’t get to know the late actor. The SBTB producer spoke on how being a fan helped with the tribute.
I didn’t know him, and I hadn’t met him. [But] just thinking about it as a fan, I knew we wanted to do more than just putting a picture of him up at the end.
At least, the show wanted to make sure the tribute was worthy of Dustin Diamond’s contribution. Producer Franco Bario revealed he had spoken to Diamond about appearing in Season 2 before his death. He and Tracy Wigfield came together with the OG cast to film a special tribute to the late actor. The moment will feature Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley, Tiffani Thiessen, Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Lark Voorhies reminiscing about their late castmate.
Viewers will have to wait to see the Dustin Diamond tribute until Saved by the Bell Season 2 premieres. The new season will debut on Nov. 24 on Peacock.
