Despite it being three decades since Saved by the Bell aired its final episode, it is still regarded as a cornerstone of American sitcom television. The show ran from 1989 to 1993, with a plot that revolved around the lives of a group of teens as they navigated high school.
The series kickstarted the careers of Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Mario Lopez, who were only young actors at the time before they found fame. Fans were delighted when Saved by the Bell was rebooted in 2020 for two seasons on Peacock. The show saw the original cast return to the screen along with a few fresh faces.
The actress Lark Voorhies revisited the NBC morning sitcom this month, with the docuseries titled Investigation Discovery. The May 4 episode called After the Bell explored the origins of the show and the subsequent careers of its cast members.
© NBCUniversal via Getty Images"It is great to bring life to these characters. When you know you’ve hit that character, there’s nothing like that rush in the world, Lark shared. "I hadn’t seen them in years, and we got to share a talent again,” Voorhies says, “and find that ‘Saved by the Bell’ method," she added of the reboot.
Tackling big issues like peer pressure, relationships, and privilege was all in a day’s work for the hit show; join HELLO! as we discover what the cast has been up to since their days at Bayside High.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zack Morris
© GettyMark-Paul Gosselaar was everyone's celebrity crush, and who can blame them after his performance as heartthrob Zack Morris? After his turn in the hit show, the actor starred in Dead Man on Campus in 1998.
He returned to TV for a role in NYPD Blue for four years starting in 2001, followed by roles in Commander in Chief, Raising the Bar, Mixed-ish, and, of course, the Saved by the Bell reboot in 2020 as Governor Zack Morris. He also acted in the ABC series Will Trent in 2023.
Mark-Paul married Lisa Ann Russell in 1996, but the pair sadly divorced in 2011 after welcoming two children together. He then married Catriona McGinn in 2012 and shares two kids with her.
Mario Lopez as A.C. Slater
© GettyMario Lopez has become a household name since starring on Saved by the Bell as A.C. Slater, the school jock with the best mullet on TV. After the show, he worked on The Bold and the Beautiful, Nip/Tuck and competed on Season Three of Dancing With the Stars in 2006.
He cemented his status as a TV host with his 11-year run on Extra, followed by Access Hollywood. He has won two Emmys for his hosting talents and has appeared on Broadway.
Mario returned for the Saved by the Bell reboot alongside his cast mates and now presents the game show, Blank Slate.
He married model Ali Landry in 2004, but the pair sadly split just two weeks after their wedding when she discovered he had been cheating on her. Mario then married Courtney Mazza in 2012, and he shares three children with his wife.
Tiffani Thiessen as Kelly Kapowski
© GettyKelly Kapowski and Zack Morris were the it-couple of Saved by the Bell, thanks to Tiffani and Mark-Paul's chemistry.
Like her cast mates, she followed the television track after graduating from the show, with roles on Beverly Hills, 90210, Just Shoot Me!, White Collar and Alexa & Katie.
She also scored her own cooking show, Dinner at Tiffani's, before returning for the Saved by the Bell reboot in 2020. Tiffani married Brady Smith in 2005 and shares two daughters with him.
Elizabeth Berkley as Jessie Spano
© GettyElizabeth played the hardworking and intelligent Jessie in the show; after wrapping up her role, she pivoted to the film world, where she starred in big hitters like Showgirls in 1995, The First Wives Club in 1996 and Any Given Sunday in 1999.
She then returned to her TV roots with roles in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The L Word, NYPD Blue, New Girl and Melissa and Joey. She starred in the 17th season of Dancing With the Stars in 2013 and is a published author of the advice book, "Ask Elizabeth".
Elizabeth, of course, also returned to Saved by the Bell for the 2020 reboot. She shares a child with her husband, Greg Lauren, whom she married in 2003.
Lark Voorhies as Lisa Turtle
© GettyLark got her start as Bayside High's resident fashion queen, Lisa Turtle, before starring in Days of Our Lives and The Bold and the Beautiful in the '90s. She dabbled in film work throughout her career, with roles in How to Be a Player in 1997, How High in 2001 and Little Creeps in 2012.
She took a break from acting in the 2010s due to her declining mental health; she revealed on The Dr. Oz Show in 2020 that she had been diagnosed with schizoaffective thought disorder.
When Lark was not invited back for the reboot of Saved by the Bell, she explained to Dr. Oz how the decision "hurt" her, but she ultimately made a cameo on the show.
She married Miguel Coleman in 1996, until their split just eight years later in 2004. She then married Jimmy Green in a Vegas wedding in 2015 before divorcing just six months later.
Dustin Diamond as Samuel "Screech" Powers
© GettyDustin's story post-Saved by the Bell is perhaps the most tragic of all his cast mates. After playing the loveable nerd Screech on the show, he acted in minor roles throughout the 2000s before releasing a contentious tell-all book about his time on the hit show titled "Behind the Bell", which he later claimed was ghost-written.
Dustin fell on hard times after being arrested for stabbing a man in a bar fight in 2014; he was then sentenced to four months in jail and violated his parole in 2016, which landed him in lock-up for two more days.
He was not part of the reboot and sadly passed away in 2021 at just 44 years old. He had been diagnosed with carcinoma just three weeks before his death. Dustin was survived by his girlfriend, Tash Jules.
