How That ’90s Show Handles Hyde’s Absence

This week Netflix brought us back to Point Place with That ’90s Show, a reboot of That ’70s Show set almost 20 years after the original series’ end. Eric (Topher Grace), Donna (Laura Prepon), Red (Kurtwood Smith), Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp), Jackie (Mila Kunis), Kelso (Ashton Kutcher), and Fez (Wilmer Valderrama) all return for the new sitcom, but you may be wondering: Where’s Hyde?

The short answer is, Steven Hyde (Danny Masterson) doesn’t appear in That ’90s Show due to Masterson’s legal troubles. The actor was accused of raping three unnamed women in 2017, with the alleged incidents taking place between 2001 and 2003. The trial ended in a hung  jury in 2022, and a new trial is set for March. Masterson and the Church of Scientology, of which he is a member, have also been accused of stalking and harassment in recent years in relation to the assault victims’ accusations. For his part, Masterson has denied all of the allegations levied against him.

So how does That ’90s Show handle Hyde’s absence? By not mentioning him at all.

While the original show’s stars (including Don Stark, who played Donna’s dad, Bob) all briefly appear in the series, the reboot is actually focused on Eric and Donna’s daughter Leia (Callie Haverda), who spends the summer at her grandparents’ house in Wisconsin and gets up to shenanigans of her own in the family’s beloved basement. Leia even develops a crush on Jay (Mace Coronel), who is revealed to be Jackie and Kelso’s son.

None of Masterson’s former cast mates have commented on his absence from That ’90s Show. However Grace did briefly address his allegations in a 2018 interview. “You know, I hesitate to say that I never saw any of that behavior because I feel like it sounds like I’m defending him, but the truth is I never saw any of that stuff,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “I was, of that cast, the most boring. So when it came to going out after the show and partying, I just was boring.”

That ’90s Show is now is streaming now on Netflix. Read our review of season one here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F36HBFGxWkg