Back in February, Ross Hull hit up social media in hopes of connecting with fans who remembered Student Bodies, the Global and YTV series he co-starred on two decades ago. He and fellow Bodies‘ compatriot Miklos Perlus were gauging interest in a Student Bodies reunion … and maybe something more. Now, months later, the plan is coming together: the cast is reuniting at in Toronto at Fan Expo this weekend to celebrate Student Bodies‘ 20th anniversary.
“It’s mind-boggling to me,” Hull says of the two decades that have passed since Student Bodies debuted. “It does feel like a long time because many of us have gone in different directions and lived our lives. But, at the same time, I have vivid memories of that experience and it’s made for lifelong friendships as well.” Hull, who is the weekend meteorologist for Global Toronto, keeps in touch with many of the cast, including Perlus, who spearheaded the reunion idea. Hull says Perlus—now a writer and producer on TVO’s Hi Opie! and Opie’s Home—called on his industry contacts to put together a video (set to Green Day’s “(Good Riddance) Time of Your Lifeâ€) with Hull narrating. Word spread and now the Fan Expo reunion is happening. And, ideally, another Bodies project.
Created by Alan Silberberg, Judy Spencer and Michael Klinghoffer, Student Bodies aired on Global and YTV in Canada as it showcased the lives of students at the fictional Thomas A. Edison High School. It ran for three seasons and—aside from Hull—starred Nicole Lyn, Katie McIninch, Perlus, Jessica Goldapple, Mark Taylor, Jamie Elman, Victoria Sanchez, Dino Valiotis, Erin Simms, Jennifer Finnigan and Katheryn Winnick.
The cast will reunite on stage on Saturday, Sept. 2, at 5 p.m. ET in Room 701A at Fan Expo for a Q&A, photo-op and autograph session. Confirmed cast members for the event include Hull (Chris), Elman (Cody), Lyn (Emily), Taylor (Romeo), Perlus (Viktor), McIninch (Mags), Goldapple (Flash) and Victoria Sanchez (Grace).
Student Bodies has become a cultural touchstone for fans around the world and in Canada, but Hull says the program’s beginnings were anything but glamorous. The series was filmed in a decommissioned school that had been converted into studios. There was no studio audience, so the cast had to rely on the reaction of the crew to get a feel on whether jokes were landing and storylines were connecting. The trouble with that was the language barrier as most of the crew were French-speaking. So the cast tried to crack each other up.
“If one of the cast members was laughing, that was an indication it was working,” he says. “We were connecting with each other, but we had no idea it would be aired at least three times a day on Canadian TV. We all worked as a team and we were all friends off-camera and I think that really helped with the chemistry.”
The cast of Student Bodies is celebrating its past at Fan Expo, but Hull is hopeful of a future project. There have been some preliminary talks about what that might be—Hull says bringing the characters together 20 years later or a Degrassi-type reboot are two options—but wants fans to weigh in on what they want to see.
“We’re asking everyone at Fan Expo to get out there on social media and #StudentBodies20 and contact broadcasters,” Hull says. “I work for Global—so that would be a good one—and make your interest known.”
The Student Bodies reunion takes place Saturday, Sept. 2, at 5 p.m. ET in Room 701A at Fan Expo.
Would you like to see a new Student Bodies project? If so, what? Are you attending the Fan Expo session? Let me know in the comments below.
