To those who have remembered the roaring ’70s from That ’70s Show, we have some wonderful news for you! For those awaiting the release of the sequel, That ’90s Show, we have an exclusive interview with Ashley Aufderheide who stars as Gwen! We are happy to hear that Ashley will be a member of the newest generation of kids in the show, and we can’t wait to see what sort of shenanigans her character will get up to in the show! This interview will discuss Ashley‘s thoughts on the iconic show That ’70s Show and her involvement, her thoughts about Gwen, and many more! But before this interview can start, here is some context on the series that first started it all, and its connection to its sequel.
That ’70s Show was a teen sitcom that initially aired on Fox in 1998, and the show ran up to its completion in 2006 with 8 seasons and a few spin-offs of the show. The story itself is simple; a group of six teenagers living in a fictional town located in Wisconsin called Point Place. Despite the simplicity behind the synopsis of the show, the show itself constantly aired on Fox and became one of its biggest flagship shows. This makes this show the second, longest-running sitcom on the Fox network and the most remembered in teen sitcoms.
Now, how does this lead into The ’90s Show? Compared to the other spin-offs that capitalized on the show’s hype, such as the British remake Days Like These and the unaffiliated That ’80s Show, That ’90s Show is more of a direct sequel that’s based on the children of the That ’70s Show cast, with the original cast making guest appearances in the show. As a small synopsis of what will be shown, the show stars Callie Haverda as Leia Forman, the daughter of Eric Forman and Donna Pinciotti from the original show. Leia would be visiting her grandparents in Point Place, WI for the summer, and there will she meet the newest generation of teenagers that will rock her entire world. This new set of characters includes the child of the original cast’s characters Michael Kelso and Jackie Burkhart, Debra Jo Rupp’s and Kurtwood Smith’s return as Kitty and Red Forman, and Ashley Aufderheide herself as one of the teen’s in the newest group, Gwen.
Speaking of Ashley Aufderheide, this young lady is an American actress who’s well known for her role as Mia from the ABC’s hit show, Emergence, back in 2019. Her breakthrough as an actress came when she was cast as the lead in the indie film, Infinitely Polar Bear with celebrity stars: Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana. Following right after that role, she guest-starred in AMC’s show Preacher, and NBC’s show The Slap. She was also known as a child model, and she had made appearances for GAP, Saks, and a whole lot of top brands.
We started asking Ashley if she held any knowledge about That ’70s Show before her audition, to which Ashley replied that she never watched it. But once she received the callback, she immediately started researching the show. She remembered being in shock about getting the callback, only for her to realize that she needed to binge the show, and immediately fell in love with That ’70s Show upon binging it. We also asked about Ashley‘s character and how she fits into the series. Ashley happily tells us that Gwen’s original design was to be someone who’s “[a] petite, powerhouse with pink hair”, but as that doesn’t depict Ashley, they changed a few things about Gwen’s character to fit around Ashley which she thought was cool. She describes Gwen to be bold, confident, possessing leadership qualities, and bringing Leia in as her bestie. Ashley fondly says that she wants Gwen to be her alter-ego, saying that Gwen is very free-spirited, grunge, and very ’90s. She also explains how Gwen fits into the show as Leia’s best friend, has a very adorable dynamic with the rest of the cast of characters, and her relationship with her crazy mother. Ashley expresses that she loves Gwen, and is happy to play her character.
