Saved by the Bell may have proported to promote family-friendly teen fare, but behind the scenes, it was a completely different story, according Lifetime’s new unauthorized biopic. The network is giving fans a taste of the film on its Facebook page in advance of its television premiere.
We’ve already seen a clip from the movie that shows the behind-the-scenes bickering of the young cast, but the new five-minute clip actually shows how the fim is going to be structured. We see the cast experiencing the first taste of mega fame before Zack does his trademark “time out” to freeze the action (poorly, we might add; some of those extras cannot hold still) and start to voice-over. However, Screech jumps in and takes over narrative duties, serving as our eyes for the journey from obscurity to pop-culture powerhouses.
It makes sense to have the story told through Screech’s eyes, as the film is loosely based on actor Dustin Diamond’s tell-all about his time on the show. The book details alleged drug and alcohol abuse, sexual exploits, and general ego issues with the cast. It will be interesting to see to what level that behavior is depicted in the Lifetime version.
The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story premieres Sept. 1 at 9pm on Lifetime.
Screenshot via Lifetime / Facebook