Where Is Hyde In ‘That ’90s Show’? How The Series Addressed Danny Masterson’s Absence
‘That ’90s Show’ featured the returns of all the original ‘That ’70s Show’ kids except for Hyde. Here’s how the show handled Danny Masterson’s character amidst the controversy around the actor.
- Danny Masterson played Hyde on That ’70s Show.
- Danny did not appear in the Netflix spinoff That ’90s Show.
- Danny went to trial on rape charges and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Kitty and Red Forman welcomed their granddaughter, Leia Forman, into their Point Place, Wisconsin, home for the summer, which brought Eric and Donna back into the fold in Netflix’s That ’90s Show. Michael and Jackie also popped by for a friendly hello, while Fez returned with a successful hair salon. Over the course of the first season, fellow That ’70s Show character Hyde did not pop up for a quick cameo at all.
That ’70s Show fans wondered where Steven Hyde was when they watched the spinoff which came out on Netflix in January 2023. His name wasn’t mentioned once throughout the season, despite getting updates on all the other original teens of That ’70s Show. Even during a brief flashback of the That ’70s Show in the iconic basement, Hyde wasn’t shown.
Hyde’s absence from the spinoff series was because of the controversy around Danny Masterson, 47. Danny, who played Hyde in the original series, stood trial in 2022 for multiple rape charges and he was found guilty in May 2023, four months after the spinoff came out. Danny was sentenced to 30 years in prison for two charges of rape on September 7.
Danny was an original cast member on That ’70s Show, which ran from 1998 to 2006. Danny was charged in 2020 with raping three women in separate incidents between 2001 and 2003, which was during That ’70s Show’s run.
The actor pleaded not guilty to all three charges in 2021 and subsequently went on trial. The rape trial was declared a mistrial in December 2022 when the jury was unable to reach a verdict on any of the criminal charges, according to the Associated Press. However, after the trial started up again the jury voted 8-4 to convict Danny on two charges of rape. He received his 30-year sentence on September 7.
Danny and fellow castmate Ashton Kutcher had reunited onscreen in the Netflix series The Ranch, but Danny was fired in 2017 following the rape allegations. “After discussing with the producers, we’ve decided to write Danny Masterson off of The Ranch. Yesterday was his last day of work, and we’ll make new episodes in 2018 without him,” Netflix tweeted at the time.
That ’90s Show takes place in 1995. During Leia’s summer in Point Place, she crosses paths with Jay Kelso, Michael and Jackie’s son. For the Jackie and Hyde shippers, those two were clearly not endgame. Michael and Jackie reveal during their That ’90s Show visit that they were getting remarried. That ’90s Show is currently streaming on Netflix. The spinoff has been renewed for a second season.