In the pilot episode of That ’90s Show , Kurtwood Smith’s Red smugly tells Laura Prepon’s Donna and Topher Grace’s Eric: “You’re upstairs people now.”
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The line, a reference to the onscreen couple’s days spent as teens in the Formans’ basement on the original series, That ’70s Show , seems to resonate with Prepon still, even with the sequel series now on part three. The actress and director, who got her start on That ’70s Show , has returned for the latest season of the Netflix spinoff (now streaming) in her role as Donna, and as a director for the eight-episode batch.
While Donna spent most of That ’70s Show days in the basement, she is rarely there in That ’90s Show . “Whenever I’m acting, I’m in the kitchen now with Red and Kitty,” Prepon tells The Hollywood Reporter . She jokingly adds, “this is weird” that she did have to film a scene in the basement.
She says jumping back into the character of Donna is like “stepping into a cozy pair of jeans,” because she knows the character so well. Prepon has directed on the show, as well as on her previous show for Netflix, Orange Is the New Black , but took on the role of sole director for the entire batch of these episodes. “I directed last year. But this time I got to do a bunch in a row, so you can really kind of sit deep in the saddle,” she explains.
“I’m so comfortable on these sets,” Prepon says. “Because I’m also an actor, there’s a lot of empathy and understanding with these kids, and Debra Jo and Kurtwood. I would never ask anybody to do anything I haven’t myself done, literally, on these sets.”
She emphasizes that her experience on That ’90s Show has been “wonderful,” and particularly that she has been able to wear the director hat “with this next generation on this show.”
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For Prepon, returning to the show has consistently been a no-brainer. “When [ That ’70s Show creator] Bonnie Turner called me and asked me to come be in the pilot of ’90s , I didn’t hesitate,” she says. “It was the same set designer, the same hair designer, the same costume designer. It was like going back to a family.”
Prepon also shares that her ease on-camera with her original co-stars fell right into place, particularly between her and Grace, now her onscreen husband in the show. “There was this scene [in the pilot] where we stood up, and he got in a position, and I folded and was right behind him. We were right back on set, and it was how Eric and Donna always used to stand in so many episodes, and Topher and I did it like muscle memory,” she explains.
“We just stood up, and went into our Eric-Donna formation, and both of us looked at each other and just burst in laughter because it’s so deep in my muscles, it’s so deep in my psyche,” she says. “A very, very pivotal moment in my life was playing Donna, and it’s so lovely to go back.” The Orange Is the New Black actress notes that now both she and the character of Donna are married and a mother, emphasizing it’s “really wonderful to be able to see her progression in life.”
It’s clear that Prepon has had a great experience returning to the character and the show, making her hopes for the future quite clear. “I really hope we get to do more.”
All episodes of That ’90s Show part three are now streaming on Netflix.
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