Lifetime, the network that's bringing you a controversial Aaliyah biopic starring Zendaya Coleman, is wowing us again with another loony project: an unauthorized backstage look at NBC's beloved 1989-93 teen series “Saved By the Bell.”
“The Unauthorized 'Saved by the Bell' Story” is based on star Dustin Diamond's tell-all “Behind the Bell,” which detailed sinister backstage goings-on at the show. According to him, there was a fair amount of experimentation with drugs and even some sexual dalliances, including threeways. Lifetime apparently also conducted hours of interviews for this project.
Check out the cast:
-“Blink” star Taylor Russell McKenzie as Lark Voorhies (Lisa Turtle)
-“Degrassi: The Next Generation” star Dylan Everett as Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zack Morris)
-Newcomer Alyssa Lynch as Tiffani-Amber Thiessen (Kelly Kapowski)
-Julian Works of “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones” as Mario Lopez (A.C. Slater)
-Tiera Skovbye of “Supernatural” as Elizabeth Berkley (Jessie Spano)
-Sam Kindseth of “Shameless” as Diamond (Screech Powers)
Now, look: I will watch this. Yes. But something tells me the backstage gossip of “Saved by the Bell” isn't as juicy as we want it to be. I'm pretty interested in learning about who fired Hayley Mills when the show shifted from the Indiana-set “Good Morning, Miss Bliss” to the California-set “Saved by the Bell” we remember today. I'd also like to know if Lark Voorhies is doing OK. Lisa Turtle was the funniest, coolest, and best-looking cast member. Period.
Do you think this movie will be a screeching success? Or, like Zack's duck Becky, will it be lost for good in the oil slick that is cable TV cinema?
(Via Buzzfeed; photo credit via Lifetime's Sergei Backlakov)