Man, Nickelodeon raised me as a child.
I know that everyone always says that they had the “Golden Age” of children’s television, and I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but when I tell you that I loved Nickelodeon as a child and I still believe we had some of the best shows ever. I believe it, with my whole entire heart.
Not only were we winning with animation – with all time-classics such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, Danny Phantom, The Fairly OddParents, airing during my time – we had some of the absolute best live-action kids shows, such as Drake and Josh, True Jackson V.P. and many others.
Another one I adored, iCarly, has gotten its own spinoff series, and is already in the process of making Season 3. And now, one of my second favorites, Zoey 101, is getting the sequel film that it deserves – Zoey 102. But, who is going to be in this new movie? And what is it going to be about? Here is what we know so far about the upcoming sequel film to the hit TV show.
What Is The Zoey 102 Premiere Date?
Get excited, because Zoey 102 is going to be premiering way sooner than any of us expected, in summer 2023, according to Entertainment Weekly.
The film was announced back in January 2023 by Deadline, and to hear that it is coming so soon is so exciting. Guess we’ll be able to add this to our 2023 movie premiere schedule, because now we can at least count down the days.
We don’t have an exact date just yet of when it’ll drop, but as of this writing in mid-June, summer is basically here , so we know we’re not going to be waiting that much longer to see almost all of our favorite students from Pacific Coast Academy reunite.
Most Of The Original Cast Will Be Back
If you were wondering if the main cast of Zoey 101 was going to be back, we can confirm that most of the characters that we know and love are set to return for the sequel film, as confirmed by the Deadline article confirming the film.
Here's one of the things Jamie Lynn Spears tried out for after Zoey 101.
This includes the lead, Jamie Lynn Spears, as Zoey, who is actually also working as an executive producer for the show, which is exciting in of itself. If she worked behind the scenes, I have a feeling that the movie will at least have those same vibes that the original show did.
Spears actually spoke about coming back to the franchise when it was first announced, saying how excited she was to be continuing the Zoey's story and that of her friends again:
I’m beyond thrilled to be back alongside my PCA family and continue the story of Zoey and all the characters fans know and love. As an executive producer, it’s been an exciting opportunity to work with such incredible talent, as well as Paramount+ and Nickelodeon.
Other cast members that are confirmed to be coming back for the film are Erin Sanders as Quinn Pensky, Sean Flynn as Chase Matthew, Matthew Underwood as Logan Reese, Christopher Massey as Michael Barret, Abby Wilde as Stacey Dillsen, and Jack Salvatore as Mark Del Figgalo.
Jeez, just saying all those names brought back so many memories of the laughs that I shared with friends and family while watching this show.
While this is great news, it’s not the first time that cast members from a former Nickelodeon show have returned in continuations that come from Paramount+. The new iCarly features Miranda Cosgrove, Jerry Trainer and Nathan Kress from the original series, and also welcomed Josh Peck — who also happened to be one of the stars of Drake and Josh — as a side character.
It seems that more and more former Nickelodeon stars want to bring their characters back for fans who are all grown up now (like myself) to enjoy. And honestly, I am here for it.
But Victoria Justice Won’t Return As Lola
However, the one person that we can confirm is not going to be in the cast of Zoey 102 is Victoria Justice. While she wasn’t in every single season of the show, her character, Lola, became a breakout character, leading to the actress receiving her own series, called Victorious, not that long after Zoey 101 ended.
In an interview with Variety when promoting her new single, Justice confirmed that it was simply timing that stopped her from being in the reunion movie, saying that she wished the cast well:
The timing of everything didn’t work out, but I’ve been in touch with Jamie and the entire cast, and they could not be more understanding and more supportive. Ultimately, I would love to be there with them. I loved doing that show. It was such a pivotal point in my life, and I had so much fun making it. I love that cast; we had such a great time, and I just have so much love for them.
It stinks that we won’t be getting anything from Justice as Lola, but I wish her luck. Victorious is a big reason why many of the stars on that show – including Ariana Grande who is playing Glinda in the film adaptation of Wicked – ended up getting so popular, so it makes sense as to why Justice would have other priorities as well.
The Gang Will Be Coming Back Together After Ten Years For A Wedding
Get ready for a reunion, because that’s exactly what Zoey 102 is going to be about. While not much is known about the plot of the upcoming sequel, we do know from the Deadline article that the film will follow the gang coming back together in present day for a wedding/high school reunion in Malibu.
I’m eager to see who, exactly, the people getting married are this time around, as there were some couples in the last season of the show that I could see marrying. For now, we’re just going to have to be patient.
Filming Wrapped In February 2023
One last thing we know is that filming for the show wrapped in February 2023. In March, actress Abby Wilde posted several pictures of her and the cast and crew on Instagram, commenting how it had already been three weeks since she wrapped photography for the upcoming movie.
With that in mind, that means that filming for the movie finished in February – which makes sense, as it’s expected to come out in summer 2023.
What are you the most excited for when it comes to Zoey 102? It’s been fourteen years since we last saw all these guys together – and I can only imagine what it’ll be like to see them all grown up now.
