Mark-Paul Gosselaar says he hasn't been approached for NBC's Saved by the Bell revival

Saved by the Bell is finally coming back on NBCUniversal’s forthcoming streaming service, but one familiar face won’t be present. Or at least, if he will be, that’s news to him.

In an interview with Variety, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, the erstwhile Zack Morris, said he has not been approached to participate in the revival. “I read it in the trades just like everybody else this morning,” Gosselaar said. “Honestly, I was never approached. I woke up to the news this morning with a ‘huh’ kind of response.”

It seems, however, that the revival will still involve Gosselaar’s character: On the new show, Zack Morris has become California governor, and faces backlash for closing too many low-income high schools. As a solution, he suggests the affected students move to the highest-performing schools in the state, including his alma mater Bayside High, disrupting the school’s privileged environment.

Representatives for NBCUniversal did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment. The press release announcing the revival says the new iteration will “[feature] original cast members including Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez,” naming only those two, who will reprise their respective roles of Jessie Spano and A.C. Slater.

Gosselaar is currently starring in ABC’s black-ish spin-off mixed-ish, which the actor believes may be the reason NBC has not approached him. “I kind of understand it, because I’m on ABC, so it kind of doesn’t fit into that considering [Disney’s upcoming streaming platform] Disney+. So I understand the business side of things,” he said. Nevertheless, he remains open to appearing if the network will have him: “I’ve always been interested, of course,” Gosselaar said.

NBC’s streaming platform, known as Peacock, launches in April 2020.

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