That ’70s Show Was Originally Going To Be Named After A Beloved Rock Song

“That ’70s Show” has a clear appreciation for music — featuring one of the best TV theme songs of all time and plenty of musical guest stars — but the show nearly took its love of song a step further: Creators originally wanted to name the series after the most familiar line from one of The Who’s most popular tracks, “Baba O’Riley.”

“‘Teenage Wasteland’ was our tentative title,” executive producer Tom Werner told The Hollywood Reporter. “It was on the first draft, but we couldn’t get the rights to it from The Who.” 

Werner said the team went back to the drawing board, coming up with a list of new possible titles, which included “The Kids Are Alright,” named after another Who song. Songwriter Pete Townshend ultimately shot down that idea, so the team settled on “Feelin’ All Right,” which they presented to advertisers in 1988 at Fox’s annual upfront presentation.

The title was changed again, however, when co-creator Bonnie Turner proposed calling the series “That ’70s Show,” noting that viewers would call it that anyway, regardless of its actual title. 

Ashton Kutcher and Debra Jo Rupp, who portray Michael Kelso and Kitty Forman, did not at first know that the sitcom was a period piece when it was titled “Teenage Wasteland.”

“The show was called ‘Teenage Wasteland’ at the time,” Kutcher said in an interview for the “That ’70s Show’s” 100th Episode Special. “And so I didn’t know when I auditioned … that it was in the ’70s.” 

In the same interview, Rupp added, “When I auditioned for this show, I had no idea that this took place in the ’70s. I was doing an entirely different show from everybody else.”

Since then, the franchise has continued using decades in the titles of its spin-offs, most recently with Netflix’s now-canceled “That ’90s Show.”