Lesley Brey
Reporter
It’s barely 2021 and the popular Nickelodeon comedy “iCarly” has been declared as the next victim of the reboot trend plaguing American media.
The reboot, announced in December 2020, will feature many of the original core cast, including Miranda Cosgrove as the titular Carly Shay, Nathan Kress as Freddie Benson, her love interest, and Jerry Trainor as Carly’s older brother Spencer, reports Screenrant.com. The new series will be available for streaming on the rebranded CBS All Access app, now known as Paramount +, likely sometime in late 2021 early 2022. It is unknown if Jennette McCurdy will reprise her role as Carly’s best friend Sam Puckett.
“Growing up, “iCarly” was the show I turned to on Nickelodeon. I adore Miranda Cosgrove and the entire cast,” said Emma Watts, a Bio-Med junior at Idaho State University.
The original “iCarly” began its run in 2007, quickly becoming one of the most popular child-oriented sitcoms of its time. The show followed the adventures of Carly and Sam as hosts of the iCarly webcast and frequently paired social commentary with random humor. At a time when the internet was still largely uncharted territory, “iCarly” showcased the unique struggle Millennials faced adapting to this new technology (although the target audience was actually Gen-Z). Unlike other Nickelodeon comedies, “iCarly” was lucky enough to receive a proper conclusion during its final episode iGoodbye.
“I remember “iCarly” being really fun and entertaining, and I am really excited to see how the reboot will turn out,” said Ari Herrera, a biology major and junior at ISU.
If you were a fan of the show, you may be scratching your head as to what reboot will focus on. So far nothing has been released about what the new show will cover, or even where it will take place. It’s probably a safe bet to assume that it will be set several years after the events of the finale to accommodate the current ages of the returning actors. Otherwise, everything else is a mystery.
One notable change has been that of producers. Due to numerous complaints of inappropriate behavior on set involving young actresses, previous producer Dan Scheindar will not be involved with the production of the reboot, according to Substack.com.
“As much as we love “iCarly”, and many of the T.V. shows that were a very big part of our childhood, we also need to take into account that [McCurdy] might have some honest and real reasons why she might not want to join the project again,” said Breanna Widdison, a senior nursing student at ISU.
Indeed, McCurdy is very vocal about the trauma she experienced while working on several Scheindar productions. On her self-titled Youtube channel, she speaks openly about how she was treated, and about her recovery from her subsequent eating disorder.
“iCarly” filled a niche during its original run that left many lifelong fans, however, is this enough to justify its revival? Modern audiences are subjected to a state of constant deja vu as each year more content is given the green light for a reboot. Increasingly, these reboots seem to offer little in terms of substance, merely riding on the coattails of their successful predecessors.
“Reboots tend to be pretty underwhelming, so as nostalgic as this one may be, I don’t think it’ll do the original show justice,” said Ana Weybright, a freshman in occupational therapy at ISU.
Disney has capitalized on this trend by pumping out shot-for-shot live-action remakes of their beloved animated copyright holdings, but they are far from the only guilty party.
“The main issue I have with the reboot of “iCarly” and reboots, in general, is that they don’t produce the same raw moments. For instance, the reboot of “iCarly” won’t have the full cast due to Jackson Odell’s death in 2018. Moments just can’t be relived,” said Watts. Odell played Gumbo, a recurring character.
If a reboot avoids becoming a soulless copy, it may meet the equally unhappy fate of being dipped in a vat of HotTopic set dressing, such as what happened to “Riverdale” (2017), “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” (2018) and the upcoming live-action “Winx” (2021).
The real question is who in the world is asking for these? Sure, there may be a diamond in the rough whose premise couldn’t be actualized during its original production that is in desperate need of a refresh, such as HBO’s “Westworld” (2016). However, that is not the typical choice of the source material. During this era of reboots, previously successful franchises seem to comprise the meat and potatoes of the market. Acknowledging this, the answer to our previous question becomes clear.
“I think that so many shows are being rebooted so that companies don’t lose their copyright, it’s the same as all those live-action films of Disney movies,” said Herrera.
“I think it’s a hail mary trying to make more money by appealing to older viewers,” said Weybright.
These reboots are made to generate a profit. Period. With streaming the popular means of consumption, production studios are desperate for a sure-fire way to guarantee viewership, and nostalgia is one heck of a drug. Consumers will almost certainly interact with a reboot, if only because it’s a familiar material, and as such, quality plays a role of little importance.
The first rebooted episode of Rosanne (2018), saw a viewership of 18 million people, according to T.V. by the Numbers, despite receiving a mixed score from critics due to its inconsistent writing. With the incentive being so obvious it’s little wonder why the cycle repeats.
“My take is that producers, T.V. shows, a lot of people, they are all doing whatever they can to make as much money as they can, and frankly, as long as it maximizes profits, they don’t care,” said Widdison.
All of this is not to say that the “iCarly” reboot will be bad by default.
With the talented actors being brought on to the project it may very well turn out wonderfully. I’ve always been a fan of the source material, so I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested and that’s exactly the point. As long as audiences are tolerant of the reboot mania, they will continue to be produced, however, that leaves this reporter wondering exactly how long we’ll have to grin and bear it in the meantime.
