During the summer of 2021, shortly after the launch of Paramount+, an “iCarly” revival premiered, picking up nine years after the original Nickelodeon series concluded. Original series lead Miranda Cosgrove reprised her role as Carly Shay, the former teenage vlogger, who relaunches her old web show after nearly a decade-long hiatus. Original series regulars Jerry Trainor and Nathan Kress also returned for the revival, with newcomers Laci Mosley and Jaidyn Triplett rounding out the cast.
In the sea of television revivals, “iCarly” stood out, given that it was the return of one of Nickelodeon’s most famous live-action series. Because the revival reflects the passage of time since the original series finale, the characters, most of whom viewers watched as teenagers, are now adults facing issues that echo the same experiences that their original audience now deal with.
Cosgrove, who also served as an executive producer on the series, acknowledged that tailoring the revival to an older audience was the one condition for her to return. She told Variety that the team “had a lot of wiggle room” thanks to it being on Paramount+ instead of Nickelodeon. She also expressed that it “would have been kind of strange” if the primary characters returned to host a kids’ show as adults.
iCarly was permitted to mature with its audience
The “iCarly” revival gave viewers a chance to reconnect with Carly, Spencer, and Freddie in a dynamic akin to reuniting with childhood friends after several years apart, now with a more mature, broader perspective on life. Given that the series was a Paramount+ exclusive, it allowed for more grown-up themes to be explored, including sexuality, adult relationships, and parental abandonment, despite the fact that it was a revival of a children’s program.
Unfortunately, Paramount+ canceled the “iCarly” revival after only three seasons. The final episode left viewers on a cliffhanger, in which Carly and Spencer’s estranged mother returns to their lives years after she abandoned them as children. This narrative thread was meant to be further explored in a fourth season, but despite the revival’s cancellation, Miranda Cosgrove is optimistic that a movie will be produced to resolve the cliffhanger.
Along with the “iCarly” revival, Paramount+ is home to another Nickelodeon legacy sequel. “Zoey 102” was released on the streaming service in the summer of 2023. Similar to “iCarly,” this made-for-streaming film picks up with much of the original cast of “Zoey 101,” exploring the grown-up lives of the characters since they graduated from Pacific Coast Academy 15 years prior.
