Carrie Bradshaw & Mr. Big (Sex and the City)

Carrie and Big were messy, addictive, and somehow always pulling each other back in—like a designer shoe you know will hurt but you wear anyway. Sex and the City made Carrie and Big iconic, while And Just Like That… revived their story for a new era.

Sarah Jessica Parker has basically remained the CEO of Carrie Bradshaw energy, and she’s stayed deeply involved in the sequel series. And speaking of the sequel: And Just Like That… is set to end after season 3, with a two-part finale.

Chris Noth’s real-life story took a much darker turn. In late 2021, multiple women accused him of sexual assault; he denied the allegations and said the encounters were consensual. After the accusations, he was no longer set to film additional episodes of The Equalizer.

So while Carrie’s story kept going, Big’s future on-screen got complicated fast.

Zack Morris & Kelly Kapowski (Saved by the Bell)

Zack and Kelly were the sunshine couple of teen TV—popular, cute, and chaotic in a low-stakes way. In the original show, it felt inevitable that they’d end up together (because it’s the ’90s, and that’s the law).

In real life, Mark-Paul Gosselaar has kept a steady TV career, most recently starring on NBC’s Found. And the nostalgia came back around: the Saved by the Bell reboot on Peacock was set 26 years after Zack and Kelly’s wedding, with Zack as the Governor of California. (It was eventually canceled after two seasons, but still—the fact it existed felt like a little gift.)

Tiffani Thiessen has also stayed booked and busy, and she’s leaned into lifestyle/food projects too, including releasing a cookbook focused on making leftovers actually exciting.

Buffy Summers & Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Buffy and Angel were the gothic fairytale couple: intense love, impossible timing, and the constant sense that happiness was never going to last for more than ten minutes. If you watched this as a teen, congratulations—you were emotionally shaped (and potentially traumatized) by it.

Sarah Michelle Gellar has had a major “wait, is this actually happening?” moment recently: a Buffy revival is in the works, with her returning in a recurring role. She’s also been popping up in new projects, including joining Dexter: Original Sin.

David Boreanaz moved from vampires to military drama and led SEAL Team right through its seventh and final season, which ran in 2024.

So yes: Angel and Buffy grew up, got careers, and somehow the Buffyverse is circling back again—because the ’90s truly never die.