[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for That ’90s Show Part 3.]
Laura Prepon pulled double duty for That ’90s Show Part 3. She directed all eight episodes and reprised her fan-favorite role as Donna. For Prepon, she accepted the opportunity to direct the Part 3 episodes “without hesitation.”
She added, “I loved really being able to do that many episodes straight because on those shows, you’re jumping around different directors every week usually. Being able to do that many straight, I could really hone in with this wonderful cast, and they totally trusted me. I was able to bring in some really great inside baseball stuff from living on these sets for eight years. The empathy and understanding and the deep connection I had to the storylines and this set was really, really special. It was all wonderful and worth it. I hope I get to do more. If they wanted me to direct more, I would say yes in a heartbeat.”
The latest batch of episodes included notable ’90s references to everything from Clueless to Doug. In a hilarious Episode 2 montage, Leia reveals her sex fantasy with the animated Nickelodeon character. That sex fantasy was not on our bingo card whatsoever, but it didn’t surprise Prepon whatsoever.
“First of all, after being on Orange [Is the New Black], nothing shocks me,” she admitted. “Whenever I’d get an Orange script, sometimes my mouth would be on the floor, and I literally would ask, ‘Where did you even hear about this? Where would you ever get this idea?’ And they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh. We read it in a blah, blah, blah, blah.’ But I gotta tell you, after all the amazing and wild stuff we did on Orange, nothing shocked me, so when I read this, you know what I thought about? I was like, ‘Okay, how are we going to show this to the writers’ room during the run-through?’”
Leia’s worries over her first time led to a heartfelt and honest conversation about sex between a mother and daughter. “I thought that was a really great scene because it was just about trust and just not getting ahead of yourself and just being present and trying to just be safe,” Prepon explained. “It’s the way I would imagine Donna would react, and I’m happy that it was written that way. Callie [Haverda] and I had a really good time doing that scene together, and then it ended with a fun little joke.”
She continued, “Another benefit of coming back and being able to portray Donna is seeing someone like Donna give that kind of advice to her daughter. It’s wonderful to be able to see a character who I really related with and really loved as a kid and have that full circle moment of being able to see what someone like Donna does in that situation. It was really satisfying, and it was really fulfilling.”
With Leia’s closest friends in Point Place and Eric (Topher Grace) getting a new job out west writing a book about the new Star Wars films, Donna offered Leia the opportunity to stay with Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) and Red (Kurtwood Smith) for the school year. However, the final moments of Part 3 left Leia’s future up in the air after she snuck out to hang with the gang on the school rooftop. Jay (Mace Coronel) took Kitty’s keys to get up there despite Leia telling him not to. Will Donna put Leia in the car and head back to Chicago?
“I think it’s a really cool open-ended scenario,” Prepon told TV Insider. “There was a line where Donna says, ‘Did you think I wouldn’t find you? I know all the spots.’ That’s really kind of funny because Donna was these kids. For purposes of drama, I’m sure the first episode of next year, if there’s a pickup, will probably be a question of will she or won’t she stay. Let’s all hope that she stays because it’s so fun. This cast is so wonderful, and directing it was the best. I hope that we get a chance to do more. You just never know. I’ve been in the industry long enough to know that I’m just grateful for the present job that I have. The industry is ever-changing, and you never know what’s going to happen. This job was a true gift, and I hope to get to do more.”
That ’90s Show Part 3, Streaming Now, Netflix