‘Zoey 101’ Solves 10-Year Old Mystery: ‘What Did Zoey Say?’

Nickelodeon has come through on a decade-long promise to its “Zoey 101” fans.

The network revisited its popular mid-’00s series on Friday, airing a marathon on sister channel TeenNick. Creator Dan Schneider had teased that the throwback would end with a “fun little surprise,” and he wasn’t kidding.

There’s quite the fun little surprise coming today. I’m smiling just thinking about the reaction. Stay tuned, y’all… 😉

— Dan Schneider (@DanWarp) September 18, 2015

“I’m smiling just thinking about the reaction,” the producer Tweeted. Hours later, he dropped a video short that solved a mystery from the show’s first season.

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The present-day clip shows a now-grown Chase (Sean Flynn) preparing to ask his girlfriend to marry him, when his old pal Michael (Christopher Massey) interrupts to tell him there’s something he needs to see.

In an episode that aired on Sept. 18, 2005, lead character Zoey (Jamie Lynn Spears) told Chase that she’d talked about him in a time capsule video for school that he could watch in 10 years.

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Luckily for Chase, his buddy Michael kept track of time and retrieved the DVD to let him know Zoey’s true feelings.

“And now, I wanna tell you about one of the most special people I’ve ever met. His name is Chase Matthews. And he’s one of the funniest, coolest, nicest guys in the world,” Zoey says in her message. “Sometimes, I kinda think he has a little crush on me, but other times, I kinda think he just wants to be friends. All I know for sure is, Chase is really special to me, and who knows, maybe he’s even my soulmate.”

“Zoey 101” viewers know that this is what Chase had always wanted to hear. The follow-up vid ends with him grabbing the engagement ring from his jilted girlfriend and bolting out the door to find Zoey.

Schneider still left the story open-ended with a “To Be Continued…” cliffhanger, but said he was happy to finally tell Zoey’s secret after all these years.

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“I never break a promise! I love you guys. I love Zoey 101. This is for THE FANS,” he Tweeted, later admitting that the response to his long-awaited reveal was more overwhelming than he expected.

“I had no idea #Zoey101 was this loved by so many people,” he added, after the clip went viral. “THANK YOU all for watching my shows, and caring so much.”

“Zoey 101” ran for four seasons on Nickelodeon, ending in 2008. 

— Erin Biglow