Zoey 102 - Everything You Need To Know

Get ready, Pacific Coast Academy grads — the hit Nickelodeon sitcom "Zoey 101" is finally getting a continuation. After well over a decade since the original series ended, fans will once again get the chance to reunite with Zoey (Jamie Lynn Spears) and all of her PCA friends, thanks to the upcoming revival movie "Zoey 102."

There's already a lot to go over regarding "Zoey 102" and what fans should expect out of the project. Not only does the movie's synopsis confirm some massive character updates from beyond the original series, but the list of returning cast members from "Zoey 101" has also been confirmed with some exciting inclusions and interesting omissions. There's also the matter of the film's release date, as it's actually set to debut far sooner than some may have expected. Here's all of the things that viewers should know about "Zoey 102" before they finally watch it.

Fans may have had to wait over 15 years for a continuation to "Zoey 101," but that wait is very nearly at its end. "Zoey 102" is set to premiere on July 27, making it another movie to look forward to in 2023. The film isn't getting any sort of theatrical run, and it will instead debut exclusively on the Paramount+ streaming service.

The July release of "Zoey 102" is especially notable for the fact that it's a fairly speedy turnaround for the film. While it has been a long-awaited project among the fanbase, "Zoey 102" only entered full-scale production in January 2023, as confirmed by a Paramount+ press release. Per cast member Abby Wilde on Instagram, the movie wrapped filming in February, just one month later. That means that from inception to release, "Zoey 102" has roughly had a production process of a mere six months.

"Zoey 102" follows on from the end of "Zoey 101," picking up with the gang years after they've all graduated from Pacific Coast Academy. Now well into their 30s, the group reunites when longtime sweethearts Quinn (Erin Sanders) and Logan (Matthew Underwood) announce that they're finally getting married. Of course, the proceedings get about as wacky and out of control as fans would expect.

One particular focus of the movie will be the relationship between Zoey and her longtime love interest Chase (Sean Flynn). While the pair ended up as a couple at the end of the original "Zoey 101," they've long since parted ways, and Zoey in particular is facing some serious love life troubles. Of course, the ex-couple crossing paths again at the wedding leads to some awkward (and potentially heartwarming) shenanigans. The movie will also provide updates on what many of the other major characters from the original series have been getting up to as well.

As with most reunion specials of its kind, "Zoey 102" reunites much of the original cast of "Zoey 101." That includes Jamie Lynn Spears as series lead Zoey Brooks, Sean Flynn as Chase Matthews, Christopher Massey as Michael Barret, Erin Sanders as Quinn Pensky, Matthew Underwood as Logan Reese, Jack Salvatore Jr. as Mark Del Figgalo, and Abby Wilde as Stacey Dillsen. The returning crew are joined by several newcomers, including Thomas Lennon as Kelly Kevyn, Owen Thiele as Archer March, Dean Geyer as Todd, Audrey Whitby as Lyric, and Zach Zagoria as Jordan.

"Zoey 101" cast members and characters absent from the production include Victoria Justice's Lola Martinez, Paul Butcher's Dustin Brooks, Alexa Nikolas' Nicole Bristow, Kristin Herrera's Dana Cruz, and Austin Butler's James Garrett. Several of these actors have spoken out on their absence, such as Butcher, who posted a TikTok video ostensibly implying that the project is unnecessary. Nikolas has taken an even stronger stance against the movie, echoing her previous comments about feeling unprotected while working as a child actor at Nickelodeon. "Do NOT support a network that can't even take accountability especially when it comes to CHILDREN. That is beyond low..." she tweeted following the project's announcement.

"Zoey 102" is directed by none other than Nancy Hower, a creative talent with extensive experience in the film and TV industry on multiple fronts. Intriguingly enough, her name might be most familiar to die-hard fans of "Star Trek: Voyager," as she recurred throughout the series as the actor for Ensign Samantha Wildman, a biologist who occasionally appears as a member of the Voyager's crew.

In the years following "Star Trek: Voyager," However would largely pivot to roles behind the camera. She directed the 2004 mockumentary movie "Memron" before developing a reality TV series for TBS in the form of "10 Items or Less." 2013 would see her direct the semi-improvised Hulu series "Quick Draw," and she would go on to direct episodes of various shows like "Those Who Can't" and "Tacoma FD." Most recently, she directed a couple episodes of the Disney series "Saturdays" and the CBS series "So Help Me Todd."

The script for "Zoey 102" is co-written by the creative duo of Monica Sherer and Madeline Whitby. The pair have written episodes for several Nickelodeon series, including "AwesomenessTV" and "All That." They have also created a few shows themselves, including the sketch comedy series "Betch" and the Nickelodeon show "Drama Club."

On the producer front, Jamie Lynn Spears is taking on an executive producer credit in addition to her role as the lead of "Zoey 102." "As an executive producer, it's been an exciting opportunity to work with such incredible talent as well as Paramount+ and Nickelodeon," she said in a Paramount+ press release. Nancy Hower, Sherer, Whitby, and Alexis Fisher also all serve as executive producers on the movie.

It's worth noting that the original creator of "Zoey 101," Dan Schneider, does not appear to have any involvement with the movie. His absence from the revival follows his parting ways with Nickelodeon in 2018 after numerous allegations of verbal abuse and sexual misconduct were brought against him by former co-workers and actors.

Ahead of the release of "Zoey 102," an official trailer has been released to give fans a proper idea of what the revival movie is going to look like. While there's plenty of nostalgic callbacks to the original "Zoey 101," perhaps the most intriguing elements of the trailer are how it differs from the series it's continuing on from.

The trailer starts off with some snippets of the original series before flashing forward to what the characters are up to now. Zoey gets proposed to on a second date, and bemoans her relationship struggles before Quinn invites her to be her maid of honor at her wedding. Knowing that Chase will be there, Zoey decides to hire a fake boyfriend as her plus-one. Things only get more wild from there, as various out-of-context shots are shown to the bumping beat of "TiK ToK" by Kesha.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the trailer to longtime "Zoey 101" fans is that the characters are now shown drinking alcohol and generally getting into ever-so-slightly more adult situations. It seems that "Zoey 102" is borrowing a page from the "iCarly" reboot on Paramount+ in this department.

While "Zoey 102" has a pretty significant time jump beyond the ending of the "Zoey 101" series, it's still a continuation of the show's narrative, so interested viewers may want to give the original work a watch-through before seeing the movie. It might be a bit of an involved endeavor, however, as there are four seasons of "Zoey 101" with a total of 61 individual episodes spread between them.

It's also worth noting that "Zoey 102" isn't the first piece of "Zoey 101" media to take place after the original show's finale. There was actually a 10th anniversary short created by Nickelodeon in 2015 that serves as a follow-up for the "Time Capsule" episode of Season 2. It's a pretty brief snippet of content, but seeing as it deals with the relationship status of Zoey and Chase post-finale (which the movie also delves into), it may be worth a quick watch for those that want to be fully caught up on their "Zoey 101" lore.

Those ready and waiting to watch "Zoey 102" when it drops on Paramount+ are in luck. As is the case with many classic Nickelodeon shows, the streaming service also hosts the entirety of the main "Zoey 101" series, which is available to watch with a basic subscription. The first two seasons of the show are also currently part of Netflix's lineup and can similarly be watched with a regular subscription to the service. Beyond those options, every episode of the show can be individually purchased or bought in bulk on major digital storefronts like the iTunes store, the Google Play store, the Microsoft store, and YouTube.

As for the 10th anniversary special, the short is available to watch for free online in a number of locations. It's currently up as a public video on Dan Schneider's YouTube channel and it was also posted to Nickelodeon's official Facebook page.