How 'Zoey 102' Addresses Its Cast Absences

Image source: Paramount+

Just six months after being announced, Zoey 102, the revival movie for the popular 2000s Nickelodeon sitcom Zoey 101, premiered on Thursday, July 27 on Paramount+. It brought back many of its stars, Jamie Lynn Spears as Zoey Brooks, Sean Flynn as Chase Matthews, Erin Sanders as Quinn Pensky, Matthew Underwood as Logan Reese, and Christopher Massey as Michael Barret, and fan-favorite supporting characters Stacey Dillsen and Mark Del Figgalo played by Abby Wilde and Jack Salvatore Jr. Even when the casting was announced, there were a good handful of notable absences, and it seems right to go over how they're addressed. Heck there are even some surprise namedrops of characters unlikely to have attended Quinn and Logan's wedding but were nice to hear about again.

Believe it or not, it's Dustin Brooks, Zoey's younger and obviously not-so-little-anymore brother played by Paul Butcher who actually gets the best "Where are they now?" exposition. Zoey reunites with Quinn's mother at Quinn's dress shopping session, with her mother, Quinn's bubbe also there. Quinn's mother actually asks Zoey how her family is doing, starting with Dustin. It turns out he has two kids already and twins on the way. That's right, Dustin's a father of 4 before 30. Probably didn't see that coming. Before we could hear about Zoey's parents, who never get brought up after, Stacey interjects to have their own little catchup. Butcher has done previous onscreen reunion efforts, namely the 2020 All That episode where the cast encountered Spears's Thelma Stump character. It could be argued his absence was most-justified in the first place, as he wasn't really in the friend circle as much as everyone else.

As for Zoey's other roommates, Dana Cruz played by Kristin Herrera in season 1, Lola Martinez played by Victoria Justice in the final 3 seasons, and Nicole Bristow played by Alexa Nikolas in the first two seasons, they were not so lucky. When Zoey meets Chase's wedding date Danielle (they broke up but still went together so he wouldn't be alone) she tries to guess who she is. She gets three attempts, and it's Dana, Lola, and Coco. That's right, even the girls' dorm advisor who got at least one plot, Coco Wexler, who was played by Jessica Chaffin, was namedropped. Nikolas has had highly publicized issues about her time on the show and hasn't succeeded in reconciliation either. Not sure if the complete omission is an act of pettiness by Spears, but it might seem like it. 

Meanwhile, Herrera, who also appeared in the All That episode, had too fresh a newborn to leave and do the film. Justice had scheduling conflicts, as she was signed on to a film, but according to director Nancy Hower, who seems to have remembered it as a tour, she really tried to make it work. Hower says “In fact, there was a part written for her... This was such a giant cast. We had to fly people in on certain days and we just couldn’t make it work with her schedule.” She describes the part as including a "very funny" storyline that she won't give away, in hopes of another follow-up that Justice would hopefully be part of. James Garrett, Zoey's season 4 love interest while Chase was trapped overseas and played by Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee Austin Butler, also received no acknowledgment and seemed of no concern to the press anyway.

But that's not all. We also learn the fate of Pacific Coast Academy itself, and it kind of massively recontextualizes the entire original series. The school didn't even last into the 2010s, closing in 2009 after several parents complained about poor educational standards. A state investigation revealed the school wasn't even accredited. That's right, Pacific Coast Academy wasn't a real school in-universe either. Dean Rivers was embezzling students' tuition and blowing it at the casino. The student loans and ensuing debt? Still real though. However, the grounds still stand, even if completely abandoned... until the characters squat for a very special occasion. No spoilers.

On the bright side, while Sushi Rox closed along with the school, Kazu's son started a food truck and is more than happy to cater for that new special occasion after Chase gives a call. Fun fact: Kazu was played by Brian Tee, who while he had already appeared in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift by the time of his final appearance in the original series, would go onto Jurassic World, playing Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows and most prominently Dr. Ethan Choi in the One Chicago franchise, anchored in eight seasons of Chicago Med. Zoey 102 is now streaming on Paramount+.

Source: TVLine