"That '90s Show" Features Throwback Props From "That '70s Show"
Hello, Wisconsin! That '90s Show has officially hit Netflix, meaning it’s time to return to Point Place for another dose of unforgettable memories. In the 10-episode season of the That '70s Show spinoff, we’re greeted with many familiar faces and a whole new group of kids who crave excitement. And since it’s now the summer of 1995, the sets were given a makeover—with plenty of throwback nods to the original show.
For starters, the producers decided to deck out the basement with old living room furniture from That '70s Show, as if Kitty (played by Debra Jo) and Red (played by Kurtwood Smith) moved those pieces into the basement after redecorating the house. “We figured Red and Kitty would redecorate, but they would do it with wallpaper, not with major additions,” co-creator Terry Turner said in a press brief.
To make the basement furniture a reality, set decorator Tara Stepheneson-Fong had each piece painstakingly rebuilt. Other throwback props in the basement include the old Green Bay Packers helmet, posters, and the rope pulls from the door of Kelso’s van that hang from a coat stand. In the opening credits, you can see the Forman’s old TV from upstairs tucked into a corner if you look closely.
To make things all the more authentic, some of the original That '70s Show cast even brought back props. Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis (who return to play Micheal Kelso and Jackie Burkhart) came equipped with a trunk, stool, and the multicolored round pillow in the basement set. Debra Jo supplied the glass grapes on the basement coffee table and photos of the Forman family—including one with Betty White and Tom Poston as Kitty’s parents, which appears as a photo on the living room bookcase. Wilmer Valderrama (who returns to play Fez) brought back the Vista Cruiser.
When updating the Forman kitchen, set designer Greg Grande chose a fruit and rooster theme with blue cabinetry to replace the owl theme with green cabinetry from That ‘70s Show. A couple of the owls from the old set are shown on the living room bookshelves. "I always felt that Kitty loved a theme, so I found lots of berry-themed items for the kitchen as well as finding exact matches of items that were in the kitchen originally," Stepheneson-Fong tells House Beautiful. "I thought that Kitty wouldn’t have thrown away all of her tchotchkes, but rather edited out the ones she didn’t love as much and brought in a few new ones."
Other very ‘90s updates to the Forman house include a plaid-patterned sofa with floral throw pillows with ruffles in the living room. “House Beautiful was actually one of the vintage magazines that I used as a reference for drapery and pillow styles as well as prints and patterns,” the decorator says.
Believe it or not, finding '90s furniture and fabrics wasn't easy. "Most people still have their '90s furniture, so it was a challenge," Stepheneson-Fong says. The decorator sourced many items from vintage stores and antique malls with the hardest item to find being the living room coffee table.
Another returning set in the show is The Hub. When decorating the local hangout, Stepheneson-Fong hung vintage photos of Wisconsin and had custom, vintage-style graphics created for Wisconsin companies. “I wanted it to feel like an ode to Wisconsin while still feeling like the place where the original cast hung out,” she says. “I tried to keep some of the same pieces in the space so that, again, it felt like coming home.”
The show also introduces us to Gwen's (played by Ashley Aufderheide) Riot grrrl-inspired bedroom. The walls are covered in posters, the wall-to-wall shag carpeting is purple, and colorful decorative details pop—including a fuzzy journal, plastic makeup cases, and a CD collection. "One of the pieces I love in that room, found at the Warner Bros. Property Department, is her dresser that has a collage of shapes and colors all over it," Stepheneson-Fong says. "It felt like something that she could have done herself with an old dresser, magazine cutouts, and a bottle of Mod-Podge."
It's safe to say the new sitcom is packed with enough nostalgia—for That '70s Show and the '90s—in the set design alone to make you feel as though you're being met with a warm embrace.
You love set design. So do we. Let’s obsess over them together.
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