The entire main cast from the original Saved by the Bell series reprised their roles in the revival, with the exception of Dustin Diamond and Dennis Haskins as Screech and Mr. Belding, respectively.

On September 17, 2019, it was announced that a single-camera revival of the series was in development for NBC's planned streaming service, Peacock, with Tracey Wigfield serving as showrunner.

[13] Funny or Die's Dashiell Driscoll, the executive producer of the web-series Zack Morris Is Trash, was hired as a staff writer for the show,[14] along with 50 Central's Shantira Jackson, among others.

So I wanted to make sure that when we reconnected with her we understood what she actually has accomplished"[22] Mark-Paul Gosselaar publicly appreciated the fact that new Zack was "a little offensive and sort of not being on the right side of things".

[24] The production shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic forced the writers to change the three remaining teleplays and to simplify some details in order for the shooting to be viable for the new protocols.

[25] Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez were initially announced as the only cast members of the original series to be reprising their roles[12] and it was reported that they would also serve as producers on the show.

[35] Allegedly, Dustin Diamond publicly expressed disappointment for not being invited to reprise his role of Screech Powers in the new series, as the only cast member who had been featured as a leading character in every previous incarnation of Saved by the Bell.

[39] Rich Eames and Scott Gale, the music composers of the original show, made a cameo appearance together as part of the Birchwood Boys band.

Due to their involvement as producers during the pre-production process, both Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley had to cancel their appearances at the Steel City Con in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, originally scheduled on December 7–8.

[42] Filming officially began on January 10, 2020, with Lopez giving fans a first look of the new series with a video of Berkley, Ed Alonzo and himself shooting their first scene at The Max diner,[43] built at Universal Studios.

[47] For the textures and design elements of the new sets, Lucky took inspiration from Piet Mondrian's work "for additional flare" and the red color of the lockers (originally used only in the first two seasons of the show) was chosen to complement the maroon in the Bayside logo.

Every week, Gosselaar and Driscoll dissected one episode from the original series' first run, "analyzing iconic show moments and discussing “never-before-heard stories” from the set with featured guests".

[62] Elizabeth Berkley, Mario Lopez, Tiffani Thiessen, Breckin Meyer, Ed Alonzo, Bennett Tramer (writer of the original series) along with Allyson Thurston and Jennifer Schelling (who played the Zeffirelli Twins from 1989 until 1991) were among the special guest stars of the podcast.

[63] On November 15, Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez were presenters at the 46th People's Choice Awards ceremony, where host Demi Lovato dubbed their appearance "a Saved by the Bell reunion".

[64] The Los Angeles Times described their moment as a "must-see",[64] also because award receiver Jimmy Fallon gave his acceptance speech on mute via Zoom.

[65] The following day, the main cast described their feelings on returning to Bayside High in a featurette video exclusively debuted by People's official website.

The marathon included the U.S. television premiere of the new show's pilot, that aired on December 13 at 9 p.m.[69] For the series, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 76% based on 42 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10.The website's critical consensus reads, "Though the intended grade isn't always clear, Saved By The Bell’s capable cast of newcomers make Bayside's halls their own in a reboot that's smart, self-aware, and seriously funny.

Jen Chaney of Vulture gave the series a positive review, dubbing it "a self-aware satirical delight" and described the pilot as "the strongest first episode of a comedy I’ve seen all year."

Describing the series as "a funnier and more culturally relevant reimagining of Bayside High", Betancourt applauded it for its "standout cast of young newcomers", especially the "much needed Afro-Latina representation" personified by Haskiri Velazquez and Alycia Pascual-Peña.

"In the wrong hands, the characters of Lexi and Mac Morris could skew towards unlikable, but Totah and Hoog imbue these posh teens with an inherent affability."

"[75] In his review forTVLine, Dave Nemetz gave the series a B+ grade, calling it "surprisingly good" and "a cleverly constructed, highly tongue-in-cheek reinvention that pokes plenty of fun at its inspiration while finding genuine laughs of its own.

"[76] Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone described the series as a "clever recontextualization by Wigfield, acknowledging that some of the antics that seemed adorable in the Nineties were actually awful".

He praised Totah's "very funny and utterly natural" performance but noted that "the grand unified field theory behind what Wigfield's attempting makes more sense than, say, the weird blend of sitcom antics, soap plot-twists, and faux documentary realism of the short-lived BH90210, but it doesn't quite hang together.

"[77] Samantha David-Friedman of Attractions Magazine appreciated the "always-hilarious" John Michael Higgins and noted how the show, despite being a comedy, addressed "more complicated issues like financial disparity, racial profiling, and the complex social challenges faced by modern teens."

[78] Margaret Lyons of The New York Times appreciated the "quick and funny" series and the "strong performances from the new cast" but criticized "the moments of friction [...] from the adult characters grafted in from the original".

Maidy criticized the series for not having "idea who its target audience is" and for being "poorly written", although he highlighted the "decent cast" and described the roles of Daisy, Aisha and Devante as "far more interesting characters than they deserve to be.

"[80] Also negative was Charles Bramesco's review for The Guardian, who disliked the work of the "pretty bad [young] actors" and criticized the "laziness" of the writing ("About every third joke lands, and that's a generous estimate").

[84] Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review felt that tonally, "the new Bell rings cheekier and more meta than any previous iteration" but that "Daisy's tendency to break the fourth wall to confer with viewers produces some chuckles, but after a while the gimmick wears thin."

In the series' sixth episode "Teen-Line", two jokes were made regarding the identity of the artist's kidney donor (who was in fact her close friend, Francia Raisa).