Jamie Lynn Spears to star in "Zoey 101" reboot movie "Zoey 102"
Jamie Lynn Spears announced she will reprise the role she is best known for: Zoey Brooks from the Nickelodeon show "Zoey 101." Spears, 31, posted a photo on Instagram showing a script for "Zoey 102" — a movie reboot of the hit show that ran from 2005 to 2008.
"Zoey 102" is the working title for the full-length original movie based on characters from "Zoey 101," and it will premiere exclusively on Paramount+, the company announced. Paramount Global is the parent company of CBS News.
The film will star Spears and several alum from the show — including Erin Sanders ("Quinn Pensky"), Sean Flynn ("Chase Matthews"), Matthew Underwood ("Logan Reese"), Christopher Massey ("Michael Barret"), Abby Wilde ("Stacey Dillsen") and Jack Salvatore ("Mark Del Figgalo").
Underwood commented on Spears' post, which also included a photo of directors' chairs with each of the returning characters' names embroidered on them. "It's so incredible to be back with the gang again," he wrote.
The TV show, created by Dan Schneider, followed the teenage characters at Pacific Coast Academy, the California boarding school that serves as the setting for the show. "Zoey 102" will follow the characters after they've left PCA, when they reunite for a wedding in the movie.
The film is currently in production in Northern California and Spears is serving as executive producer. It is set to premiere later this year.
The "Zoey 101" reboot comes at a time when many nostalgic TV shows are being recreated. Paramount+ also rebooted "iCarly," a popular live-action show that aired on Nickelodeon from 2007 to 2012.
Spears made headlines when she became pregnant at 16 while starring on "Zoey 101." At the time, Nickelodeon issued a statement saying: "We respect Jamie Lynn's decision to take responsibility in this sensitive and personal situation. We know this is a very difficult time for her and her family, and our primary concern right now is for Jamie Lynn's well being."
Spears took a break from acting after giving birth to her daughter, Maddie, in 2008. She has since married Jamie Watson and had another daughter, Ivey, in 2018.
She recently starred in the Netflix series "Sweet Magnolias."
Spears' sister, Britney Spears, has made headlines in recent years for fighting in court to end her conservatorship. The older Spears' conservatorship, during which many aspects of her life and finances were controlled by her dad, was terminated in 2021, and Spears has made several public, disparaging comments about her family, including her younger sister.
In an interview with "Good Morning America" last year, Jamie Lynn said she "took no steps" to be a part of her sister's controversial conservatorship.
"When it was put into place I was 17 years old," she said. "I was about to have a baby, so I didn't understand what was happening. Nor was I focused on that. I was focused on the fact that I was a 17-year-old about to have a baby. I understand just as little about it then as I do now."