Wilmer Valderrama Reveals Why He's Not Appearing on That '90s Show Season 2: 'There's No Time' (Exclusive)

Wilmer Valderrama won’t be returning to Point Place, Wisconsin anytime soon.

Together with That 70s show actors Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace, the actor, 44, reprized his iconic character, Feza, in the first season the spinoff That show from the 90s. However, he won’t be returning for season two – and now he’s revealed why.

At the Monte-Carlo 2024 Television Festival on Friday, June 14, Valderrama explained his absence from the show’s upcoming second season with a simple answer. “There is no time!” he told PEOPLE exclusively.

“We are looking for 20 episodes per season [on NCIS]but at the same time, these are children’s jobs,” he added, speaking of Fr That show from the 90s newcomers.

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“This is their show now and I think it was important that we came and paid tribute to their show and had fun with the legacy of what we were doing,” he continued. “At the same time, it was really about, you know, now seeing how they take it.”

Mila Kunis and Wilmer Valderrama in ‘That ’70s Show’. FOX

Valderrama also told PEOPLE that he is “very proud” of the new cast, which includes Callie Haverd as Leia Forman, daughter of Eric Forman (Grace) and Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon), as well as Max Donovan, Ashley Aufderheide, Sam Morelos, Reyn Doi and Mace Coronel.

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“The whole cast was great and the show is great,” he added. “I was very proud to relive it, but also more excited for the kids to take it from here.”

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Valderrama spoke about the sitcom elsewhere at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.

During a panel discussion on June 15, Valderrama turned back the clock on his guest role in the first season That show from the 90s (and his original engagement as Fez) thanks to That 70s show to creators Mark Brazillo, Bonnie Turner and Terry Turner for giving him “a character that allowed me to fly in ways I didn’t think were creatively possible.”

“I created something that I will never forget, that changed my life,” he continued, adding that he was “incredibly grateful” for the experience.

He also recalled helping the showrunners shape how Fez’s return to Point Place would look in the spinoff. “They asked me, ‘Oh, what do you think Fez would be doing now if it were the ’90s?’ And I said he’s going to be the Paul Mitchell of Wisconsin,” Valderrama said on the panel.

“Like, you’d have an ad, like a local ad, you know, the whole thing,” he continued. “And they were dying. They laughed so hard. And they said: ‘Let’s do it’. ”

Wilmer Valderrama in ‘That ’90s Show’.

Netflix

Stepping back into Fez’s shoes for the spinoff was one thing. His pants, however, “were still so tight,” Valderrama noted on the panel.

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It was even more difficult to repeat Fez’s legendary voice, the actor revealed. “But the big question was – and I’ve said this before – can I still play my voice? It’s like I feel like I haven’t been everywhere since I was 26,” he explained at the festival.

“I don’t care how fun it is or who asked me to lend a voice,” he added. “I’ve never done that, you know? And so, when I had to make the table, I said, ‘OK, let’s go.’ ”

He said he played with a softer version of Fez’s voice before realizing, “F— that, it has to be 100 percent the same.”

Looking back at the first one That show from the 90s read the table, he recalled: “Everyone was like looking at me, and then suddenly it came out and it was like I was riding a bicycle. I never forgot that.”

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The second season That show from the 90s is returning to Netflix in two parts: Part 1 premieres on June 27th, and Part 3 premieres on October 24th.

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Source: HIS Education