‘That ’70s Show’: How the Young, Inexperienced Cast Was ‘Stupid Enough’ to Film the Pilot Episode
With the spinoff recently debuting on Netflix, fans are going back and streaming early episodes of the TV sitcom, That ’70s Show. Originally released in 1998, it’s hard to believe a cast of young and inexperienced actors could create a successful show. However, they seem to have benefited from their naivety while filming the pilot.
‘That ’70s Show’ pilot avoided becoming a statistic when it got picked up
Pilot seasons typically runs between January and May, during which roughly 20 pilots get ordered by each network out of hundreds of pitches. According to The Wall Street Journal, networks then pick up between four and eight shows based on feedback from the pilots. Most seasoned actors understand what’s at stake when filming a pilot.
However, the inexperienced cast of That ’70s Show had yet to learn what they had signed up for. Interviews with the cast posted to TikTok reveal just how little they knew about the industry. Laura Prepon, who played Donna Pinciotti, described just how unprepared she was, saying:
“I didn’t know that the show was gonna be anything big when I first started… I didn’t know that, you know, the majority of pilots that go out don’t get picked up. I didn’t know anything about ratings or whatever. I was just having a great time.”
‘That ’70s Show’ cast was ‘stupid enough’ to believe they’d be successful
Even though the odds were against them, the cast still believed in the show. Topher Grace reiterated Prepon’s sentiments admitting he’d only done one or two high school plays before landing the role of Eric Forman.
“At the beginning, we were so fresh that we were actually stupid enough and naive enough to think that it would be a success, not knowing that the odds of television pilots making it even to air is extremely low.”
Mila Kunis, who played Jackie Burkhart, may have been the most naive, as she was just 14 years old when they shot the pilot. She admitted that her focus was more on the “cute boys” than concerns over the show’s success.
The cast recalls ‘petrifying’ rehearsals
Like most of the cast, Wilmer Valderrama was still in high school when he was cast in That ’70s Show. He also didn’t have much experience as an actor, which he described as “petrifying.” Valderrama, who played Fez, recalled what it was like filming the pilot, saying:
“Going back to the first table read, the first rehearsal, you know, those were some of the most petrifying things that any of us had to go through, because when none of us know each other, we’re testing the waters. None of us really knew how to hit a mark.”
Fortunately, the cast learned early on to lean on each other and work through the experience together. “That was the great thing about it,” Valderrama continued. “If it wasn’t because we had each other, you know, and grew up the way we did with each other, you know, it’d be a whole different show.”
Creators wanted to name ‘That ’70s Show’ after The Who song
When the idea first came up for That ’70s Show, creators pitched it with the tentative title, Teenage Wasteland. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get the rights from The Who and had to come up with a list of backup ideas. According to The Hollywood Reporter, other possible titles included The Kids Are Alright and Feelin’ All Right.
According to executive producer Tom Werner, co-creator Bonnie Turner came up with the title that ultimately stuck. Werner recalled Turner saying, “You know, why don’t we just call it That ’70s Show? Because that’s what everyone is going to end up calling it anyway. No matter what we come up with, they’ll say, ‘Did you see that ’70s show?'” And that’s how the show was ultimately born.
