Popular TV producer dead at 88

The last couple of days have not been good for the powerhouses of the entertainment industry.

Earlier this week, we reported that Glenn Padnick, a co-founder of Castle Rock Entertainment, had passed away.

Now reports are surfacing that Peter Engel, who produced some monster TV hits during his day, has also passed away.

He’s Gone

Engel, 88, had produced some of the bigger shows on TV at the time.

For instance, he produced the mega-hit “Saved by the Bell” and its spinoffs. He also produced “Last Comic Standing.”

Engel was in the business for four decades, producing more than 1,000 hours of TV shows in the process.

In addition to producing, he was an accomplished TV writer, having written hundreds of episodes of TV shows.

Some of the shows where he has writing credits include “City Guys,” “USA High,” and “Malibu CA.”

In addition to producing “Saved by the Bell,” he also wrote about a dozen episodes of the Saturday morning favorite.

The show was a launching pad for several high-profile stars, including Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley, Mario Lopez, and the late Dustin Diamond.

Many people do not know that “Saved by the Bell” originally launched on the Disney Channel as “Good Morning, Miss Bliss.” It only aired for one season, but NBC decided to give the show another chance on Saturday mornings, and it absolutely blew up its time slot.

Engel was able to milk “Saved by the Bell” for many years, serving as executive producer for “Saved by the Bell: The College Years,” as well as the TV movie, “Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas.”

He then transitioned to “California Dreams,” which aired 78 episodes from 1992-96. From there, it was “USA High,” which aired 95 episodes from 1997-99.

Engel launched another spinoff, with “Saved by the Bell: The New Class” airing 143 episodes from 1993-2000. He rebooted “Saved by the Bell” again in 2020, airing only 11 episodes.

After “Saved by the Bell: The New Class,” Engel’s two biggest hits were “Hang Time” and “City Guys.” Toward the end of his producer career, he started to pivot to reality TV, which led to the launch of “Last Comic Standing,” which aired 28 episodes from 2004-14.

Engel’s death was confirmed by family members, stating that he had passed on March 4, 2025, at his Santa Monica home.

However, no cause of death has been revealed as of the writing of this report.