A quick mention of the late ’90s show That ’70s Show brings on a flood of memories of favorite moments and an outburst of the very catchy theme song, “In the Street.”
If it weren’t for the show’s success, we wouldn’t have Punk’d or Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
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‘That ’70s Show’ was an incredibly successful show.
But there’s a lot that went on that we didn’t know about!
Check out these behind-the-scenes secrets that made the show such a legendary sitcom!
1. Mila lied about her age to land the part of Jackie.
The age requirement for the role was 18, as producers didn’t want minors.
She pulled a Jackie.
She told them she would be 18, but she didn’t tell them when and they didn’t ask.
2. Kurtwood Smith, who played Red Forman, was the only regular cast member actually from Wisconsin.
He also based the character off of his stepdad, who passed away before the show aired.
I wonder if Smith ever felt like Eric?
3. Alex Chilton, who cowrote the theme song, was paid $70 in royalties every time the show aired.
For him , the show was “That $70 Show.”
We should really thank him for one of the catchiest theme songs ever to exist.
4. To keep a real ’70s aesthetic and show the use of marijuana without actually showing the “puff and pass,” the producers decided to rotate the camera in a circle.
I bet many television sets were turned off by parents during these scenes.
5. Topher Grace was just not down to continue with the show and distanced himself.
Topher left after Season 7 to pursue other acting gigs and ever since then has really had little to do with the other cast members.
I’m secretly hoping this is just a very long Punk’d episode by Topher.
6. Resident hippie Leo took some time off-screen to actually go to jail for doing hippie things.
He spent nine months in prison for shipping bongs off across the country, leaving him written out of Season 5.
But we all rejoiced his return in Season 7!
7. Did you ever wonder why Eric’s sassy sister Laurie got replaced by a different actress later in the show?
Lisa Robin Kelly was struggling off-screen, admitting to excessive drinking after dealing with the loss of a baby.
In our hearts, no one else really could replace her.
8. Tanya Roberts, who played Donna’s mom, also slowly started to disappear from the show as the seasons passed.
In real life, her husband became terminally ill and she probably wanted to devote her time to being with him.
There was definitely a lot of tragedy behind the scenes.
9. It may be hard to believe, but Mila wasn’t a huge fan of her future husband Ashton on the show.
Mila explained that he thought he was super cool, and she thought, “Ugh, I don’t like you.”
Maybe he was just really trying to impress her? Guys, it never works.
10. Regardless of all that, Ashton was Mila’s very first kiss.
Sorry, but how adorable is that? Especially considering the fact that they’re married!
Surprisingly , they were both super nervous to kiss. I’m squealing at the cuteness.
11. Joseph Gordon-Levitt appeared in only one episode of the show, even though it was supposed to be a recurring role.
Audiences were apparently not thrilled with the first gay kiss to air on North American television, and Joseph disappeared to go on and be America’s favorite heartthrob.
12. Laura Prepon confessed that Topher Grace was a bad kisser.
As a matter of fact, Prepon admitted that she thinks her Orange is the New Black co-star who plays Piper is a better kisser.
That’s gotta burn.
13. Even his other on-screen smooch, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, threw shade at Topher for being a really bad kisser.
In an interview with The Advocate, Joseph confessed that Topher was “probably one [of] the worst kissers I’ve ever kissed.”
Ouch!
14. The show was filmed over a total of eight years, even though the show’s timeline was set from 1976–1980.
I wonder if those were just especially long years in real life, too.
15. The license plate at the end of the opening credits actually showed the year the episode was set in.
It’s all about the small details.
The opening song better be stuck in your head by now. Sorry, not sorry.
16. Chuck Norris was supposed to be cast as Red Forman.
Unfortunately , he was busy filming another show, so he couldn’t take the role.
Could you imagine Red busting out a martial art move or two?
17. Jackie is the only cast member who calls everyone by their first names.
She did call Steven by his last name and nickname, “Hyde.”
I always thought Michael’s first name was actually “Kelso,” so I can really thank Jackie for reminding me.
18. Donna changed up her red locks for a movie role during the filming of the show.
Prepon had to dye her hair blonde for her role in Karla.
Eric Forman was not upset about it.
19. Fez says his real name once, but we don’t hear it.
It’s actually blocked out by the sound of a bell ringing.
All we know is that the first five K’s of his last name are silent.
20. The smoke in “the circle” was both real.
Danny confessed that he, Laura, and Ashton would smoke real cigarettes during these scenes.
But the smell was actually masked.
By the strawberry-scented movie smoke!
That would definitely make for a pretty gross scent combo.
21. Topher Grace was discovered while performing in a high school production.
The parents of a fellow cast member were, of course, attending to watch their kids in the play.
But turns out, they were actually Hollywood producers!
Topher and the producers kept in touch when he headed over to university as a freshman the following year.
The first series they got him to try out for was none other than That ’70s Show.
The rest is truly history.
22. Wilmer Valderrama revealed that before the cast would start filming each episode, they would throw their hands in a circle, think hard about a special word to name the episode, and break.
Wilmer admitted that the words became pretty ridiculous as the episodes went on.
“It was this stupid, stupid stuff but we would basically come up with all these crazy things and have this funny moment together.”
Sah cute.
23. I know it might be hard to believe, but Ashton was a model before he landed a role on That ’70s Show.
He won a modeling contest, flew out to NYC, ended up on Calvin Klein ads, and BAM, got the part of Kelso!
He stood out to producers because instead of playing Kelso as dumb and stupid, he chose to play him as naïve.
In a way, he wasn’t at all naïve to nail the personality of Michael Kelso!
24. Canadian comedian Kevin McDonald got the part of Pastor Dave from walking his dog!
Topher Grace stumbled upon him and they got to talking about McDonald’s sketchy comedy The Kids In The Hall .
Topher and producer Mark Brazill saw the show.
And after they did, they offered him the role.
Dogs are blessings.
25. The show headed across the pond in 1999 and was made into a British version called Days Like These.
The characters were identical except their last names.
Sadly, only 10 of the 13 episodes actually aired.
26. Some of the episodes in later seasons were named after songs from iconic ’70s bands.
All of the titles for Season 5 are Led Zeppelin songs, Season 6 represented The Who, Season 7 paid tribute to The Rolling Stones, and Season 8 was all about Queen.
27. The original title for the show was supposed to reference a song by The Who.
“Teenage Wasteland” couldn’t be used due to legal reasons, and people were calling it “that ’70s show” anyway, so it stuck.
Do you know of any more secrets?
If you do, let us know in the comments!
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