! | This article is about the 2021 revival. For the 2007 show, see iCarly (TV show). |
iCarly is an American sitcom created by Dan Schneider and showrun by Ali Schouten. The first season premiered on the streaming platform Paramount+ on June 17, 2021 as a revival of the Nickelodeon 2007-2012 tween sitcom iCarly.[8][9]
This revival was announced on December 9, 2020 on the official Nickelodeon Twitter[10] and the official iCarly Facebook page,[11] confirming the original article announcing the revival.[12] The series is an adult comedy with a run time of approximately 30 minutes.[13]
The new series is produced by Nickelodeon Studios for Paramount+ and features the return of original stars Miranda Cosgrove, Jerry Trainor, and Nathan Kress in an adult-oriented version.
According to Paramount+'s February 2021 press release, the revival is "a new chapter for the most successful kids’ sitcom of all time, where original cast members Miranda Cosgrove, Nathan Kress and Jerry Trainor join new friends for a look at these characters’ present-day lives, adventures and comedic mishaps."[14]
In October 2023, Paramount+ cancelled the series after three seasons.[15] However, fans are fighting to bring the series back, by campaigning. In 2024, Miranda Cosgrove dropped several hints to an iCarly movie happening to wrap up the series.[16][17][18]
Plot
Carly Shay and her friends are navigating work, love and their family.[5] Carly is 26 years old. She attended college and has been pretty successful. She has not hosted her web show in a long time, but decides to restart it. Freddie has been through two divorces and his startup company has gone bankrupt, leading him to move back in with his mother. Spencer has become very wealthy and is the most successful out of the trio. He continues to reside in the Shay Apartment, which has been remodeled.[19][20]
It is mentioned in the first episode that Sam is off “following her dreams” with a biker gang, hence her absence.
Carly's new best friend/roommate, Harper Bettencourt, is a pansexual character who dreams of becoming a fashion stylist after her wealthy family lost all of their money. They both reside in a new apartment at Bushwell Plaza. Harper pushes Carly out of her comfort zone as they confront day to day obstacles. Freddie’s adopted step-daughter, Millicent, is social media-obsessed and sees the older Carly as washed up as well as competition to her small YouTube channel.[21]
Seasons
Production
Development
Former Nickelodeon president Paula Kaplan contacted Cosgrove with a pitch for a new iCarly series, revolving around Carly and Spencer running a Hype House-like content house with a new generation of influencers taking influence from the iCarly webshow. The demographic for the show was supposed to be aimed towards kids, following in the same footsteps as other revivals and spin-offs like Disney Channel’s Raven’s Home and Girl Meets World. “I don’t think that any of us would have been up for that [idea],” she says. “What excited me about doing iCarly again was getting to put the characters in situations that we couldn’t show before.” [22] Cosgrove contacted Jerry Trainor, Nathan Kress, and Jennette McCurdy about the project. Kress and Trainor were on board with the project, however McCurdy declined due to her resentment of her acting career. Cosgrove requested that the revival series be aimed towards the adults who grew up with it, which ViacomCBS and AwesomenessTV immediately agreed to, unlike the shelved Lizzie McGuire series that was being developed at Disney+. As the executive producer of the series, Cosgrove wanted to incorporate more mature topics and diversity into the series, as well as nostalgia.[23]
Producers of this revival include Miranda Cosgrove and Jerry Trainor.[24] Filming of the series began during the week of March 22, 2021, and premiered in 2021.[25][26][27] On December 24, 2020, Jay Kogen announced on Twitter that the pilot of the revival had been written. The writers' room began on January 20, 2021.[28][29] 13 episodes have been ordered so far.[30]
In December 2020, Jay Kogen confirmed that Mary Scheer who portrays Marissa Benson could return in the revival.[31] In April 2021, Tim Russ who portrays Principal Ted Franklin confirmed on Twitter that he would appear in the revival.
Kogen stated that Noah Munck had been approached to return to his role as Gibby, but didn't say anything beyond this, while saying “it's her call” when asked about Jennette McCurdy returning.[32] He has also indicated that BooG!e who portrays T-Bo is welcome to return in the revival if he wishes.[33]
The revival is about the iCarly characters being in their 20's and finding their way in the world.[34][35] Since the finale of iCarly, the original characters have experienced new relationships.[36] On December 25, 2020, Jay Kogen tweeted that Carly has had experienced new relationships, Freddie has had been married, and Sam has had a new life.[37]
The revival was originally co-run by Jay Kogen and Ali Schouten.[38] On February 25, 2021, Deadline exclusively reported that Jay Kogen had stepped down as executive producer and co-showrunner but fellow executive producer/co-showrunner Ali Schouten remained on board. The article claimed that Kogen and Miranda Cosgrove "did not click creatively", which led to his departure.[39] Jay Kogen confirmed the news the same day on Twitter saying "I'm sadly no longer trying to make iCarly a show worth watching. But the work I did has given the show a foundation. I wish them the best."[40]
On her podcast, Jennette McCurdy announced that she had quit acting due to resentment over her acting career.[41] As a result, she is not returning to the revival of the show to reprise her role as Sam Puckett.[42]
On March 18, 2021, Deadline revealed the two new cast members Laci Mosley and Jaidyn Triplett. Laci Mosley plays Harper, Carly's roommate and best friend. Jaidyn Triplett plays Millicent, Freddie's snarky and social media-savvy stepdaughter.[43]
On May 6, 2021, it was revealed that the revival would air in June of 2021.[8] On May 14, 2021, Miranda Cosgrove revealed that the revival would premiere on June 17, 2021.[9]
On June 1, 2021, the Season 1 trailer was released. It was also revealed that the first 3 episodes would premiere on June 17 in the U.S. and Canada and the following 10 episodes would air weekly.[44]
On July 15, 2021, the series was renewed for a second season.[45] and premiered on April 8, 2022.
On April 15, 2022, Nathan Kress hinted at a third season, implying the show had been renewed.[46]
On June 14, 2022, Miranda Cosgrove was interviewed about the show and the Creddie relationship after the Season 2 finale. Cosgrove implied that the show had been renewed for a third season.[47]
Season 3 was officially announced on July 27, 2022, and premiered on June 1, 2023.
A fourth season was hinted at on August 4, 2023, implying the show had been renewed.[48]
However, in October 2023, the series was not renewed and was instead cancelled after three seasons.[49]
Main Cast
- Miranda Cosgrove as Carly Shay - a social media influencer and the host of a comedy web series as well as Freddie's girlfriend
- Jerry Trainor as Spencer Shay - Carly's older brother, now a wealthy artist
- Nathan Kress as Freddie Benson - Carly's neighbour and technical producer for iCarly, as well as Carly's boyfriend
- Laci Mosley as Harper Bettencourt - Carly's roommate and best friend, who is also an aspiring fashion designer.
- Jaidyn Triplett as Millicent Mitchell - Freddie's adopted step-daughter
Guest Stars
- Main articles: Season 1 Guest Stars, Season 2 Guest Stars, Season 3 Guest Stars.
Trivia
- In December 2020, Jay Kogen revealed that the revival would feature a new main character who is LGBTQ+.[50][51]
- It was later revealed to be Harper.
- The revival was filmed on a new set, but part of it is an update of the original set.[52]
- The revival is set in Seattle, in the same vein as the original series.[53]
- The revival does not air on Nickelodeon as it is an adult show that contains "sexual situations" and "dirty words".[54][55]
- A commercial of the revival later appeared on Nickelodeon and appeared as a TV-PG rated show.
- The show is targeted towards the generation who watched the original.
- The episode iObject, Lewbert! aired on Nickelodeon on April 9, 2022.
- On December 27, 2020, Jay Kogen revealed Carly still has her webshow.[56]
- Miranda Cosgrove and Jerry Trainor are both serving as producers on the show.[57]
- Andrew Hill Newman is part of the production team.[58]
- The revival was filmed with Awesomeness production company with a new crew and filmed at the Paramount studios lot.[59][60]
- The revival uses Sam & Cat as a reference.[61]
- The pilot is written by Ali Schouten and Jay Kogen. It is directed and executive produced by Phill Lewis.[62][5]
- One of the writers, Danny Fernandez, previously guest starred as Kevin in the episode, iSpeed Date.[63]
- Writers of the iCarly revival include Ali Schouten, Clay Lapari, Danny Fernandez, David, Franchesca Ramsey, Jacques Mouledoux, Jim Armogida, Steve Armogida, Jordan Mitchell, Kate Stayman-London, Korama Danquah, Nasser Samara, Sarah Jane Cunningham, Esther Povitsky and Suzie V. Freeman.[64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72]
- Leave It All To Me from the original series is used as the theme song.
- There was talk about Miranda Cosgrove re-recording the song, but she wanted to use the original with Drake Bell as a homage to the original series.
- This series explores Carly and Freddie's romantic relationship.[73]
- The revival seems to hinge more on real-world references instead of parodies (with the mention of Law & Order, Guy Fieri, HBO, Twitter, and 7-Eleven), however it keeps continuity with the many parody companies seen throughout Dan Schneider shows (such as the Pear Company and Skybucks Coffee).
- The final episode of the first season was filmed on Friday, June 25, 2021.
- The series was renewed for a second season on July 15, 2021.[74]
- The series was renewed for a third season around July 27, 2022.[2]
- Episodes are filmed over 2 days and there are 3 days of rehearsal.[75]
- Both Jerry Trainor (Spencer Shay) and Nathan Kress (Freddie Benson) often direct at least one episode of each season.
- Unlike the original show, the seasons air once every year for 2 months with more than one episode on the first week.
- It was cancelled after 3 seasons on October 4, 2023.[76]
- It is currently unknown why the iCarly reboot was cancelled.
- There is a chance that it will be picked up by another streaming service like Hulu or Netflix and will be renewed for a fourth season.
iCarly Movie
- In June 2024, Miranda Cosgrove strongly hinted to there being an iCarly movie to wrap up the series and give it a proper ending.[16]
- Later in the month, Miranda Cosgrove said there is a good chance of a movie happening to wrap up the series.[17]
- In July 2024, it was reported that Miranda Cosgrove believed strongly that the movie would happen.[18]
- In September 2024, Miranda Cosgrove again expressed her hopes for an iCarly movie to wrap up the story, and said there was a good chance.[77]
Awards and nominations
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Category | Recipient | Result |
2022 | Favorite Family TV Show | iCarly | Won[78] |
Favorite Male TV Star (Family) | Nathan Kress | Nominated | |
Jerry Trainor | |||
Favorite Female TV Star (Family) | Miranda Cosgrove | Won | |
2023 | Favorite Family TV Show | iCarly | Nominated |
Favorite Male TV Star (Family) | Jerry Trainor | ||
Favorite Female TV Star (Family) | Miranda Cosgrove |