That '90s Show spoilers follow.
The wacky charm of That '70s Show lives on in Netflix's new spin-off series, That '90s Show, as a whole new generation of dumbasses take over the Forman basement for some more teenage shenanigans – the kind that entails the awkward throes of teen romance, tapping kegs and smoking the weed your grandma (albeit accidentally) hooks you up with.
Taking place fifteen years after the events of That '70s Show, the series follows Eric and Donna's teenage daughter Leia as she spends the summer of 1995 in Point Place with her grandparents, Red and Kitty – and it gave us all the nostalgia.
Aside from Leia's new friends eliciting some classic foot-in-the-ass threats from Red, there were plenty of cameos from original cast members to keep us satisfied.
Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) and Jackie (Mila Kunis) make a brief appearance and give Red some war-like flashbacks to the '70s. Fez (Wilmer Valderrama) is now the owner of a hair salon, and as lusty as ever. Even local stoner Leo (Tommy Chong) and Donna's father Bob (Don Stark) pop up.
Our favourite Point Place couple Donna (Laura Prepon) and Eric (Topher Grace) also return to navigate the rigours of parenthood. However, while Leia shares that same goofy appeal as her Star Wars-loving dad, a new fan theory suggests that Eric isn't, in fact, her biological father.
Reddit user bored_bingewatcher posits that Leia's father is actually Randy Pearson (Josh Meyers), Donna's boyfriend from the final season of That '70s Show.
Fans of the original show will know that Randy was introduced during the final season as a way to fill that huge void left by Eric, who moved to Africa to pursue teaching in the season seven finale. (In reality, Topher Grace bagged a nice little gig playing Venom in Spider-Man 3).
Fun fact: Meyers was originally hired to play Eric and the difference in appearance would have been explained by claiming he returned from Africa as 'a changed man', which would have been... something.
Fortunately, the writers decided to scrap that idea in favour of creating a whole new character in Randy, who dated Donna throughout season eight, and this is where the seed of the theory begins.
The couple split up just before the season finale, in which Eric returned home and got his happily ever after with Donna. It's worth mentioning that Eric returned to Point Place on New Year's Eve, 1979, after spending a year away in Africa.
Meanwhile, That '90s Show takes place in the summer of 1995 and a whole episode centres on Leia's fifteenth birthday, meaning she was born in 1980.
Given the timeline, this either means that Eric and Donna jumped straight into baby-making as soon as Eric got home and Leia was born a couple of months early, or Randy is the father.
Leia being born prematurely isn't exactly out of the question, and it could even just be a continuity error made by the writers. But the Randy theory does add up.
The Reddit user even suggests that Kitty, as a nurse, is aware of it, having reluctantly watched Donna and Randy's relationship throughout season eight. However, they add that she chooses not to say anything in order to keep Eric "blissfully" unaware, and because she enjoys being a grandmother.
Of course, this isn't official canon and is purely speculative. But if this is the case, perhaps season two will see Randy show up and in true Star Wars fashion declare: "Leia, I am your father." Now that would really be a kick in Eric's teeth.
That '90s Show is available to stream now on Netflix.
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Content Production Intern, Digital Spy
After completing her joint honours degree in Journalism and English Literature at Cardiff University, Iona joined Digital Spy as a Content Production Intern in 2022. In this role, Iona writes across both news and features, specialising in TV and movies. During her time at Digital Spy, she has interviewed multiple Love Island stars, reported from the Black Adam red carpet and, most recently, interviewed the cast of Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid.
