That '90s Show gives viewers a window into the lives of the gang from That '70s Show after that series ended. The Netflix sitcom features a return to beloved Point Place, Wisconsin, with the familiar Forman home serving as the backdrop for most scenes. However, now there's a new generation of teens in the house, with Eric Forman and Donna Pinciotti's daughter, Leia Forman, serving as the main character.
But a fan theory proposes that Leia isn't actually Eric and Donna's daughter. Much as That '70s Show wasn't known for its attentiveness to canon, That '90s Show has some math that doesn't check out. The chronology issue has led some fans to theorize that Leia's father is not Eric but someone whose presence is far better with the franchise's timeline: the widely disliked Randy Pearson.
Leia's Birthday Makes Randy Her Possible Father
Redditor u/bored_bingewatcher points out that the math for Leia being Eric and Donna's child doesn't work for a number of reasons. That '90s Show depicts Leia celebrating her 15th birthday in Season 1, Episode 6, "The Birthday Girl." Given that the season takes place over the summer of 1995, Leia would have had to have been conceived sometime in early 1980. Eric and Donna reunited at the beginning of 1980, as detailed in That '70s Show's finale, meaning they would have had to conceive Leia almost immediately afterward. Given their slow-burn relationship throughout the series, that seems unlikely.
However, there is something of a saving grace to the mathematical maladies affecting That '90s Show continuity: Randy Pearson. The much-maligned character -- played by Josh Meyers and introduced after Topher Grace left That '70s Show -- broke up with Donna shortly before the original series finale. As such, it's possible that Leia is actually Randy's daughter, and Eric is raising her as his own. That would make far more mathematical sense than Eric and Donna quickly reuniting and becoming parents.
Why Eric Can Still Be Leia's Father on That '90s Show
Even though it may be mathematically unlikely, Leia being Eric's child is completely believable. Several Reddit commenters pointed out That '70s Show has always played fast and loose with timelines. For example, the series took place over the course of about three years, yet there were four Christmas episodes. Another commenter added that many Wisconsinites consider summer to go well into September, meaning that the concept of summer 1995 may be looser than it appears.
Another flaw in the Randy theory is that the math doesn't necessarily work out for the other characters, either. Jackie Burkhart and Michael Kelso's son Jay appears older than Leia and is generally treated as such. However, his situation would have been roughly the same, if not less likely, with Fez revealing during That '90s Show that Jackie and Kelso got back together after the end of That '70s Show. If logic has to be applied to one area of the show, it must be applied to others as well. Frankly, it makes more sense to just pretend that the writers simply did what was done on That '70s Show and presented a burst of memories that didn't necessarily follow along with any logical progression.
As fans continue to pour in with reactions to That '90s Show, fan theories -- and the nostalgia factor they challenge -- are two of the major qualities that may give the Netflix series some of its predecessor's staying power. It would certainly be social media-worthy if the little oddities of the franchise's timeline wound up welcoming Randy Pearson back after the failure of That '70s Show Season 8, whether or not he happens to have any relation to Leia Forman.
That '90s Show is available to stream on Netflix.