Rio Scarcelli
staff writer
2/11/21
Many children and young adults growing up in the 2010s could have also associated that time with the now Nickelodeon classic television series iCarly. With the show’s five-year run coming to an end in 2012,
Netflix has recently aired the first two seasons of the show in preparations for a spinoff series to be released on the new streaming service Paramount+.
iCarly follows teenager Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove) as she navigates high school while simultaneously running a hit web show called “iCarly” that updates people on her life. With the help of her best friend Sam Puckett (Jennette McCurdy), her cameraman Freddy Benson (Nathan Kress) and her older brother Spencer Shay (Jerry Trainor), the four were able to create countless stories all filled with their characteristically random humor throughout.
Starring as Megan in Drake & Josh, iCarly was Cosgrove’s breakthrough as a main role.
While the show received mixed views from critics, the sitcom resonated with fans which can be shown within their ratings. The most viewed iCarly episode, “iSaved Your Life,” garnered 11.2 million views: making it the second most-viewed telecast in Nickelodeon history.
For nostalgic teens, it may have been no surprise to see the show air again on Netflix. The first two seasons debuted on Feb. 8 with Netflix waiting to comment on whether or not they will be releasing seasons three through six to complete the rest of the series. Until then, fans can enjoy seasons one and two alongside spinoff show Sam and Cat seasons one through three.
Because iCarly was a show heavily anticipated by its viewers to be put onto Netflix, many fans are wondering why now is the time they chose to do it. On Jan. 27, Cosgrove took to Instagram to post a picture amongst her former co-stars to announce the fact that a reboot of the series would officially be releasing in 2021. In conjunction with the new platform Paramont+, a bulk of episodes are scheduled to be released on the streaming service’s premiere as an added selling-point.
While not much is known about how the show’s plot line will span out, it is said to be following Carly through her 20s, taking a lot more risks than they could have on Nickelodeon’s TV-Y7 rating.
The cast has been posting updates on the progression of the show as script-writing, filming and producing ensues.
Excitement for the revival has rippled amongst the show’s fans, but many are asking the same question of who is actually involved. Cosgrove, Kress and Trainor have all openly advertised about the reboot, however no word has come out from McCurdy or Noah Munck: recurring actor for Carly’s friend Gibby Gibson.
While Noah Munck was not a main character and can be excluded in the reboot, McCurdy played a pivotal role in contrasting Cosgrove’s meek, sweetheart archetype. Her brazen attitude brought juxtaposition to the show that no other character could provide as Shay’s best friend and internet co-star. McCurdy has yet to release any official statements as to whether or not she will be a part of the show; she is not seen in Paramount+’s cast photos that were released of on-set rehearsals.
Although she has provided no explicit reasoning as to why she would not be on the show, there’s speculation about prior statements that the star has made on her website jennettemccurdy.com in regards to her experiences with childhood acting.
“I started out as a child actor…that certainly lent some psychological trauma (sound guys can be especially creepy!)” McCurdy said.
Despite her outside success, McCurdy said she felt ashamed of “90% of her resume” and ultimately unfulfilled, so she turned to alcohol; but since that didn’t work, she quit acting and began pursuing writing/directing in 2017.
“There was something about the shallowness of my success that made me resent it. That resentment festered, providing even more fuel for my disordered eating. I actively began to engage in anorexic behavior again,” McCurdy said.
Her exposure of how she viewed her experiences during the times of iCarly and Sam and Cat have also gotten her to allude to the fact that she would prefer to step out of the spotlight in the future whenever it comes to acting. While it is unknown whether she is involved in this new installment, her role in the show will be missed by fans; the writers, I’m sure, are actively working around this to fill in the gaps that McCurdy provided.
As of now the show’s specific air-date is unknown; until then, people can choose to occupy their nostalgia with the first two seasons of iCarly in preparation for future works.
