The SAVED BY THE BELL Cast Shares the Draw of the New (New) Class

November 25, 2020 by Marisa Roffman

SAVED BY THE BELL — Pictured: “Saved by the Bell” Key Art — (Photo by: Peacock)

SAVED BY THE BELL is back, with a reimagining of the iconic series, now streaming on Peacock. And while there are some familiar faces popping up, the new class shines.

But, naturally, there is a bit of drama as the kids of Bayside have to contend with new students from underfunded schools that were shut down. Among the new students is Daisy (Haskiri Velazquez), who takes on the Zack role (or at least his time-freezing power) in the series.

“For me, when I read the script, the one thing I loved about Daisy’s character is that she’s very much like myself…in my day-to-day life,” Velazquez explains in the video below. “We’re both ambitious, we’re go-getters. Nothing will ever stop us; we’re so determined. And there’s really moments where you see her get emotional and a sense of like, because she’s not fighting just for herself but she’s fighting for those around her. And that’s just who I am outside of [the show].”

And while many of Velazquez’s co-stars also related to their characters, Josie Totah, who plays the uber-popular Bayside-er Daisy, got to make her own direct impact on her character’s evolution.

“Getting to serve as a producer on the show—which is such an incredible opportunity—I’m so grateful for [that], because I had a lot of input…in developing the character,” Totah explains. “It was a really fun balance between what they had brought and what I was bringing and we mix it together and that’s what you’ll see in my character.”

Of course, there are also characters who have ties to legacy characters, like Belmont Cameli, who plays Jessie’s (Elizabeth Berkley) son, Jamie.

“Obviously, I was super excited to be reading for Jamie Spano, who is a continuation of a phenomenal legacy character on the original,” Cameli says. “And what drew me to Jamie was this interesting dichotomy, where he’s presently absent-minded, all the time—a lot of stuff flies right over his head—but he’s very much in touch with his emotions and he’s expressive and he has his loyalty to his friends. I just thought it was so lovely, and especially getting work with Elizabeth is such a treat.”

Check out the videos for more from the cast about what drew them to the show…

Haskiri Velazquez: