You might think, with Topher Grace gone from "That `70s Show" and Ashton Kutcher on his way out after just a handful of episodes this season, that the long-running Fox comedy would be going through an awkward phase.
Not the case, says one of those who stayed, Wilmer Valderrama.
"When they made the decision â€" which was completely, 100 percent fine, because after eight years I think it's OK to say you want out â€" we looked at it and said, `Do we still have a show?'" Valderrama says. "And it's such an amazing ensemble. Every single one of us has our character down, so we knew there were a lot of lines to explore."
With Grace and Kutcher â€" arguably, the two most recognizable faces of the show â€" leaving, stories and laughs will fan out to the remaining cast, which includes returnees Danny Masterson, Laura Prepon, Mila Kunis, Tommy Chong, Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp and newcomers Josh Meyers and Jud Tylor. The show's writers, Valderrama says, are also producing what he says are "the craziest, most twisted episodes you ever thought you could see."
"We come to work (and do) the craziest things," he says. "All credit to the writers, because they are keeping the show super fresh for us. I don't know how they've done it eight years in a row, but it's definitely going to be an unpredictable, fantastic way of ending the show."
That includes, for Valderrama's foreign-exchange student Fez, finally learning just where the heck he came from, as well as his full name. Fez is also going back to work at a beauty salon, and "I'm gonna have another girlfriend, and another girlfriend as well."
"I definitely know that this year, he's going to get so much more play than he's ever gotten," he adds â€" not that that would be hard, as Fez has been frustrated pretty much from day one. "So the boy's going to become a man, 100 percent this year."
Having essentially come into adulthood together, the "'70s Show" cast remains tight, making sure no one's ego gets out of check: "We never would let each other be anything but those same kids from 1998," is how Valderrama puts it. That's not to say, though, that they've isolated themselves; indeed, the cast has been unusually productive outside of the show, both on and off camera.
Prepon created a series for E!; Valderrama, Masterson and Kutcher are investors in several hip L.A. restaurants. And like Kutcher ("Punk'd"), Valderrama has created a show for MTV. "Yo Momma," scheduled for early next year, is basically "8 Mile" for comics, with comedians facing off against each other in trash-talking battles.
"Mainstream movies and TV â€" everything's trying to grab that street culture," Valderrama says. "To be able to marry that with a mainstream show on MTV was a task, but I think between MTV and me, we created a monster."
As for his day job, Valderrama says he and his castmates are trying to make sure "That `70s Show" goes out strong.
"Eight years into it, it still feels like `98, and we're still working as hard as we were in `98," he says. "We're like, `Get up, let's do it.' The task now is how we maintain it."
