The Saved By The Bell reboot has dipped its toes into two different pools, bringing a heavy sense of nostalgia for those who grew up with the original 90s comedy series and at the same time creating a new legacy that doesn’t rely too much on its roots for any newcomers to the show. However a recent nod to original and returning star Elizabeth Berkley’s 1995 attempt to break into more adult movie roles in Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls, is something that was firmly playing to older audiences who remember that film, which while being slaughtered by critics on its release has since become a huge cult hit.

Showgirls was a sex-laden look at the cruel and brutal world of Las Vegas strippers and showgirls that pulling in only $37 million at the box office on the back of a $44 million budget, definitely not what Verhoeven was used to after his blockbuster erotic thriller Basic Instinct only a few years earlier. However, the film raked in over $100 million in video rentals, turning it from commercial failure to one of MGM’s all-time bestsellers. Flash-forward just over 25 years and Berkley has gone back to her Saved By The Bell roots, and in its second season, there is an extended homage to Showgirls, which sees her even wearing some of the iconic outfits from the movie.

In an interview with EW, the actress explained how showrunner Tracey Wigfield pitched the idea to her, wanting to make sure she was ok to make the jokey reference, which was cleverly incorporated into her Saved By The Bell character’s story that it doesn’t stand out as just a gag for the sake of it. In the interview, Elizabeth Berkley said:

"The way that [Showgirls] exists today in pop culture is different, of course, than when it came out. I just wanted to acknowledge that, I'm aware of that and love how it's been embraced and that's a beautiful thing…[Showrunner Tracey Wigfield] came to me and said, "Listen, we've tossed something around this season. We have this concept. We want to see how you feel about it. If you obviously don't want to do it, we'll just kill it right here…”

"First of all, the outfit had to be just right… We start the season off where Jessie herself is in the middle of a life crisis and a divorce. Her life is a bit of a mess. She's trying to find a sense of self again… But the genius move of all time was that Tracey and the writers came to find that a fun way for Jessie to find her inner strength was a mantra of, what would Nomi do? And so that, that is what birthed this moment. Where would she find that fierceness? Let's say her Sasha Fierce, in a way. Nomi is Jessie's Sasha Fierce. What other genius could come up with that?…"

"There are so many iconic looks to Nomi that we just said, "You know what? The genius move would be to do the last hitchhiking scene" because that's where she was her most liberated. And it's an iconic look…We knew that the visual cue needed to be strong and not just give a suggestion of it, but [convey], "Oh yeah, we're going there…” It's like, if we're going to go for it, we're going for it…"

"There is this generosity towards the film and celebration of the film among a new generation of creatives, and that is exciting. You don't get to experience that often. That full-circle moment with it. For me, the relationship to it is joyful."

Saved By The Bell aired its entire new season on November 24th on Peacock.