Mario Lopez's First Look At Saved By The Bell Revival Features Surprise Return

Mario Lopez Saved By The Bell

Somehow, despite all the shows we've seen make a comeback in the past decade, it's hard to believe Saved By The Bell is getting a revival. The beloved teen series of the past is coming to NBC's streaming service Peacock and, as most revivals do, will bring back characters and locations from the original series to kick viewer's nostalgia into overdrive. Mario Lopez has signaled the revival will do the same, and revealed one surprising return on social media.

So, who could possibly be mentioned that would be that surprising? Mario Lopez's Instagram has the answer, as he casually dropped the reveal in the midst of talking about production on the revival. Take a look.

A photo posted by on

Yes, that's Max from The Max. Max was commonly seen in Saved By The Bell in the restaurant, which the teens used as a hangout when they weren't shown wandering the halls of Bayside High School. Max is only seen briefly in Mario Lopez's video, but from the brief bit we see, the only change is that his hair has gotten longer. The look would typically be out of style, but when Max is rocking it, it's looking pretty hip!

And yes, Max is still played by actor and professional magician Ed Alonzo. Audiences will just have to wait and see what Alonzo has up his sleeve for the Saved By The Bell revival, but it looks like The Max is just as popular of a spot as it was back in the day. That's not to surprising, this hangout was actually at one point popular enough to get a real-life restaurant modeled after it.

Seeing Ed Alonzo back as Max is quite a surprise, though some fans may rather want to know what bigger names are attached. News broke last year that a handful of stars like Tiffani Thiessen and Mark-Paul Gosselaar had not been approached to be in the series. It was later explained Gosselaar was not approached due to scheduling conflicts, though recent news has confirmed that the Zack Morris actor will be attached.

For now, it feels like Saved By The Bell is doing all the right things to draw viewers to Peacock. That said, this franchise has had a good deal of spinoffs over the years, and some have certainly been more successful than others. This new incarnation of Saved By The Bell may be enough to rope people in, but will it make them stay?

Related: Mark-Paul Gosselaar Apparently Doesn't Remember Much About Filming Saved By The Bell

Peacock is set to debut in April, and the Saved By The Bell revival is currently in production. CinemaBlend will keep an ear to the ground for any details, so be sure to stick with us in the meantime for more on it and other things happening in the world of movies and television.

Mick Joest
Content Producer

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.