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''iCarly'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider, which originally aired on
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
from September 8, 2007, to November 23, 2012. The series tells the story of Carly Shay ( Miranda Cosgrove), a teenager who creates and hosts her own web show called ''iCarly'' with her best friends Sam and Freddie ( Jennette McCurdy and
Nathan Kress Nathan Karl Kress (born November 18, 1992) is an American actor and director. Kress began his career at the age of four, notably appearing in several television commercials and providing the voices of Easy and Tough Pup in the comedy-drama film ...
) in the apartment loft that she and her older brother Spencer ( Jerry Trainor) live in. As the web show quickly becomes an internet phenomenon, the characters are tasked with balancing their normal teenage lives with the wacky situations their newfound fame lands them in. By the fourth season, their school friend Gibby ( Noah Munck) also works with them on the web show. Schneider was both the
showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also the ...
and
executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...
, under his Schneider's Bakery label. During the first five seasons, the show was taped at
Nickelodeon on Sunset The Earl Carroll Theatre was a historic stage facility located at 6230 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It was built by showman Earl Carroll and designed in the Streamline Moderne style by architect Gordon Kaufmann in 1938. The theatre ...
before relocating to KTLA Studios in Hollywood for the sixth and final season. It was nominated for an
Emmy award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
for Outstanding Children's Program five times. Although the show received mixed reviews from critics, it became popular with audiences. The January 2010 episode "iSaved Your Life" reached 11.2 million viewers, the second most viewed telecast in Nickelodeon history. In December 2020, a revival of the series was ordered by
Paramount+ Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Med ...
with Cosgrove, Kress and Trainor returning. The revival series premiered on June 17, 2021.


Plot

When Carly and her best friend Sam improvise comedy at a school talent show
audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece ...
, tech-savvy Freddie records it and posts it online without informing them. After seeing the girls' strong chemistry and banter, the online audience clamors for more, and thus they decide to create iCarly. The trio find their normal adolescent lives thrown for a loop when they discover that they have become online sensations as their show – which features talent contests, recipes, problem-solving, and random dancing – garners international accolades. Carly lives in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
with her adult brother and guardian Spencer and produces the show in a makeshift third-floor studio loft in their apartment. Their father, Steven Shay, is a
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...
officer stationed on a submarine and is often mentioned, but is only seen during the series' finale episode, " iGoodbye".


Characters


Main

* Carly Shay ( Miranda Cosgrove) is the host of her own popular web show, ''iCarly'', which she produces with her two best friends, Sam and Freddie. * Sam Puckett ( Jennette McCurdy) is one of Carly's best friends and co-host of ''iCarly''. * Freddie Benson (
Nathan Kress Nathan Karl Kress (born November 18, 1992) is an American actor and director. Kress began his career at the age of four, notably appearing in several television commercials and providing the voices of Easy and Tough Pup in the comedy-drama film ...
) is also one of Carly's good friends and neighbor. He is the technical producer of ''iCarly''. * Spencer Shay ( Jerry Trainor) is Carly's older brother and legal guardian. * Gibby ( Noah Munck) (recurring role: seasons 1–3; main role: seasons 4–6) is an odd friend of Carly, Sam, and Freddie.


Recurring

* Marissa Benson ( Mary Scheer) is Freddie's overbearing and overprotective mother (often referred to by Sam as Freddie's "freakish mother"). * Charlotte ( Deena Dill) is Gibby's and Guppy's loving and sometimes overprotective mother. Charlotte dates Spencer, but after their breakup, she tries to avoid him. She is a doting mother and often embarrasses Gibby. * Lewbert Sline ( Jeremy Rowley) is the doorman for the building in which Carly, Spencer, and Freddie live, characterized by his annoying, protective behavior and a large wart on his face. He is often being pranked on ''iCarly''. * Nevel Papperman ( Reed Alexander) is a critic who runs the nevelocity.com website, a site that reviews other websites, including iCarly.com. He is Carly's nemesis and has constantly tried to sabotage ''iCarly'' in exchange for a kiss from Carly. * T-Bo (BooG!e) is the manager at the Groovy Smoothie. He often annoys customers into buying random foods (i.e. bell peppers, bagels, tacos), which are always impaled on a stick. Starting in " iQ", he began renting a room from Freddie's mother. * Guppy (Ethan Munck) is Gibby's younger brother and often tags along with Gibby. * Chuck Chambers ( Ryan Ochoa) is a child in the Shays' apartment building who frequently torments Spencer. * Principal Ted Franklin (
Tim Russ Timothy Darrell Russ (born June 22, 1956) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Commander Tuvok on '' Star Trek: Voyager'', Robert Johnson in '' Crossroads'' (1986), Casey in '' ...
) is the principal at Ridgeway Secondary School, the school where Carly, Sam, and Freddie attend. He is very lenient and is also a big fan of iCarly. * Ms. Francine Briggs ( Mindy Sterling) is a very strict English teacher at Ridgeway Secondary School who shows an obvious dislike for children. * Mr. Howard ( David St. James) is a strict and unenthusiastic teacher who hates almost everything including his wife. * Nora Dershlit (Danielle Morrow) is an obsessive and insane iCarly fan with a chicken named Maurice. In the past, she had trapped the Carly cast in her home against their will. She has made appearances on the episodes "iPsycho" and "iStillPsycho". She also appeared in an episode of ''Sam & Cat'' titled "#SuperPsycho".


Production


Development

''iCarly'' is the fourth series created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon. Schneider originally wanted to make a new TV series starring Miranda Cosgrove; the original idea of the show was that she play a normal girl who, in a twist of fate, gets cast to star in her favorite TV show, ''Starstruck''. However, during a casual meeting in his den with his wife and his friend Steve, Schneider decided that it would be much better if Carly had her own show – a web show she could run herself and do whatever she wanted to do. In November 2006, Schneider then scrapped his ''Starstruck'' script and began developing a new pilot called ''iCarly'' during December. The pilot was filmed in January 2007. The series was filmed at the Nickelodeon on Sunset (now Earl Carroll Theatre). The exterior shots of the Shays' apartment building, Bushwell Plaza, are digitally altered images of the
Eastern Columbia Building The Eastern Columbia Building, also known as the Eastern Columbia Lofts, is a thirteen-story Art Deco building designed by Claud Beelman located at 849 S. Broadway in the Broadway Theater District of Downtown Los Angeles. It opened on September ...
in Los Angeles. During production of ''Zoey 101'', Schneider came up with the idea of the show and its name with his friend and producer of '' The Big Bang Theory'', Steven Molaro. He was trying to think of a good title for the new series about kids who start their own web show. The pilot script followed a lead girl named "Sam" but the URL for iSam was already taken. Schneider tried other girls' names and bought the URL for iJosie, but eventually changed it to ''iCarly'' and enjoyed the name for the lead character. The names of the lead girls were then changed from Sam and Kira to Carly and Sam.


Last seasons

In late January 2011, while doing press for her North American Dancing Crazy concert tour, Miranda Cosgrove began telling news sources that she was looking forward to returning to Hollywood to begin filming a fifth season of ''iCarly''. On January 27, 2011, Cosgrove told ''Cleveland Live News'' "We're getting ready to start the next season, right after the tour. I would be willing to do the show as long as people like it and as long as it works." On January 28, 2011,
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...
news agency also reported that Cosgrove was preparing to begin filming a fifth season of ''iCarly'', and on February 3, 2011, Cosgrove told ''The Middletown Press'', when speaking of the show and her co-stars Jennette McCurdy and
Nathan Kress Nathan Karl Kress (born November 18, 1992) is an American actor and director. Kress began his career at the age of four, notably appearing in several television commercials and providing the voices of Easy and Tough Pup in the comedy-drama film ...
, "I've known them since I was little. I can't wait to get back. I'm really comfortable doing ''iCarly''. It's like my home away from home." Cosgrove concluded her Dancing Crazy concert tour on February 24, 2011, and Jennette McCurdy finished her Generation Love mall tour on April 14, 2011. The entire cast did not even get together until the
2011 Kids' Choice Awards The 24th Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards was held on April 2, 2011, at the Galen Center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, US's University Park neighborhood due to renovations disallowing use of tradition ...
. Cosgrove confirmed that filming would resume shortly. At the 2011 Kids' Choice Awards, Jerry Trainor stated that filming would resume in May. On April 14, 2011, Nickelodeon officially announced the fifth and final production season renewal of ''iCarly'' to begin in 2012 with the episodes airing later that year. These episodes would air as the show's sixth season due to the second season production of 45 episodes being split into two broadcast seasons. The third production season originally consisted of 26 episodes as ordered in early 2010; however, half that number was shot from May to September 2010 that aired as the show's fourth season. Dan Schneider then shot the next half in May to July 2011 which became a whole new season production that aired as the show's fifth season later that year. However, due to Miranda's leave for a tour on July 15, 2011, only eleven episodes were produced and the last two were held over and produced during filming of the show's final season. The final season began on March 24, 2012, with a total of fifteen episodes produced. However, there was a four-month hiatus after six episodes of the season aired from March to June. " iShock America" was promoted as the start of the "final season" of ''iCarly'', effectively splitting the season into two parts. The series ended on November 23, 2012, with the episode " iGoodbye".


Revival

On December 9, 2020, it was announced that
Paramount+ Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Med ...
had ordered a revival of the series, with Cosgrove, Kress, and Trainor returning and Schneider not being involved with the production of the series.
Jay Kogen Jay Kogen is an American comedy writer, producer, actor and director. Biography He was born to a Jewish family. His father is comedy writer Arnie Kogen. In 2001, Kogen had a son, Charlie, who is now a musician. Career Kogen co-wrote several ...
and Ali Schouten signed on to develop the series. McCurdy suggested during her podcast that she will not reprise her role on the series, as she has left the acting profession and felt embarrassed by her past career. On February 25, 2021, it was reported that Kogen left the project due to "creative differences" with Cosgrove. On March 18, 2021, the show officially entered production, with Laci Mosley playing Carly's new best friend and roommate Harper, and Jaidyn Triplett playing Freddie's stepdaughter Millicent. The series premiered on June 17, 2021. According t
''DiscussingFilm''
the series revival will take place 10 years after the original Nickelodeon show, following Carly's journey through her twenties alongside returning characters played by Jerry Trainor and
Nathan Kress Nathan Karl Kress (born November 18, 1992) is an American actor and director. Kress began his career at the age of four, notably appearing in several television commercials and providing the voices of Easy and Tough Pup in the comedy-drama film ...
. Jennette McCurdy's Sam is not expected to return with the show reportedly set to introduce a new best friend character in her place. The best friend/roommate will "be part of the LGBTQ+ community as a pansexual character who dreams of becoming a fashion stylist after her wealthy family lost all of their money." The series will also introduce Freddie's social media-obsessed step-daughter who sees Carly as "washed up" and as competition to her own growing influencer status.


Alleged work environment

In her 2022 memoir, '' I'm Glad My Mom Died'', McCurdy described ''iCarly'' as an unsafe work environment, alleging that someone she referred to only as "The Creator" had subjected the cast and crew to frequent emotional abuse, pressured her into underage drinking, massaged her nonconsensually, and was eventually barred from interacting directly with the cast in response to complaints about his behavior. Shortly after McCurdy's allegations were made, '' Buzzfeed News'' and '' Vox'' both identified Schneider as "The Creator". McCurdy has claimed that after working with Nickelodeon, she turned down "hush money" from the network, which had been allegedly offered to her on the condition that she remain silent about her experiences with Schneider. She expressed outrage at the offer, writing in her memoir, "This is a network with shows made for children. Shouldn't they have some sort of moral compass? Shouldn't they at least try to report to some sort of ethical standard?" Both Schneider and Nickelodeon have turned down requests for comment.


Episodes


Special episodes


Television film

On November 8, 2008, ''
iGo to Japan ''iGo to Japan'' is a 2008 television film, part of the Nickelodeon TV series ''iCarly''. It premiered on November 8, 2008, on Nickelodeon, and November 21 on YTV. It has also been broadcast as three episodes of the second season. It was the fi ...
'', the film based on ''iCarly'', premiered on
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
. It has also been broadcast divided in three-parts of second season that serve as the first film of the series. The television movie stars Miranda Cosgrove, Jennette McCurdy,
Nathan Kress Nathan Karl Kress (born November 18, 1992) is an American actor and director. Kress began his career at the age of four, notably appearing in several television commercials and providing the voices of Easy and Tough Pup in the comedy-drama film ...
and Jerry Trainor. The film was directed by
Steve Hoefer Steve Hoefer is an American television director and former stage manager. Career Hoefer began his career in the entertainment industry as tour guide at Universal Studios Hollywood after graduating from the University of Southern California majori ...
. The production of the film began in the spring of 2008, and lasted around 4 to 5 weeks. In the story, after the iCarly crew is nominated for "Best Comedy Category," Carly, Sam, Freddie, Spencer, and Mrs. Benson fly away to Japan to attend the iWeb Awards show. However, their trip soon turns into an adventure with many twists after meeting with their competing webshow hosts ''Kyoko and Yuki''.


Crossover film


Broadcast


International

Worldwide, the series aired on Nickelodeon. In Canada, it premiered on October 8, 2007, on YTV and on November 2, 2009, on the original channel, and ended on December 1, 2012, on the former. In Australia and New Zealand it premiered on October 29, 2007, and ended on April 13, 2013. It premiered on March 8, 2008, and ended on April 5, 2013, in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In Pakistan it premiered on Nickelodeon Pakistan on March 11, 2011, and in India it premiered on TeenNick on January 23, 2013.


Reruns

The show has been frequently rerun on TeenNick since it ended its run on Nickelodeon.


Streaming

As of August 2021, the series is available to stream on
Paramount+ Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Med ...
and
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
, though the latter has only 64 episodes available.


Home media

Note: The season DVDs are released according to the five production seasons.


Reception


Critical

''iCarly'' received mixed reviews from critics but positive reception from audiences. Carey Bryson of About.com gave the show 2 1/2 stars, concluding "The show's comedic elements don't all rest on the irreverent, though, there are some clever storylines and even a few touching moments. Overall, the show has some great comedy, interesting stories, and fun actors." The show was awarded 3 stars by
Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.
reviewer Emily Ashby, who said that " e show isn't designed to be educational, per se, but young viewers will learn a bit about interacting with media." Hollywood.com's Michelle Lee said, "Like the ''Lost'' fan rejecting every ''Lost''-like show that came after it, I resented all of the shaky single-camera docu-style comedies that came after Arrested Development''">Arrested Development (TV series)">Arrested Development'' Because, frankly, my favorite dead show did it better. I needed something completely different to break me out of my comedy funk and get me back on that horse. And it worked."


U.S. television ratings

The pilot episode debuted on Nickelodeon on September 8, 2007, to an audience of 4.1 million viewers, followed by the second episode "iWant More Viewers" on the same day with 3.9 million viewers. The most-watched episode is "iSaved Your Life" which aired January 18, 2010, to 11.2 million viewers which is also the second most-viewed telecast in Nickelodeon history. On June 9, 2012, iCarly had the lowest viewership of a premiere ever, with only 2.4 million viewers.


Awards and nominations

In 2010 and 2011 debuted the Kids Choice Awards Latin America, Kids Choice Awards México, and Kids Choice Awards Argentina. These awards are new. ''iCarly'' was part of these awards (Mexico Kids Choice Awards, Kids Choice Awards Argentina) because the series still did not finish until 2012.


Other media


Music

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
and Nickelodeon Records have released an eponymous soundtrack for the show, entitled '' iCarly''. It includes the theme song and four original songs by Miranda Cosgrove, several tracks by guest artists, and cast dialogue. A follow-up soundtrack, titled '' iCarly: iSoundtrack II'', was released January 24, 2012.


Website

The iCarly.com website when accessed outside the show contained many promotional videos by the cast (as their respective characters), as well as content created and sent in by viewers. Other features on the site included characters' blogs, pictures from the set, songs, games, and comments from viewers. Many fictional websites from this show were redirected to this page. For example, web search engine "zaplook.com", video platform "splashface.com", user-generated cartoon repository "ToonJuice", online shop
e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain mana ...
site "craigsmix.com", nevelocity.com, GirlyCow.com, WebFlicks.com, RadioDingo.com, PillowMyHead.com, AggressiveParenting.com, SamPuckett.com, TheValerieShow.com, SendMeaSack.com, Beavecoon.org, NeverWatchiCarly.com, iSnarly.com, SprayYourChildren.com, WhatsWrongWithMyBody.com, and any other website mentioned on the show redirected to that page. As of April 4, 2018, iCarly.com now redirects to the ''iCarly'' information page on the Nickelodeon website.


Video games

An animated PC
hidden object game A hidden object game, also called hidden picture or hidden object puzzle adventure (HOPA), is a puzzle video game genre in which the player must find items from a list that are hidden within a scene. Hidden object games are a popular trend in casu ...
, ''iCarly: iDream in Toons'', was released by Nickelodeon in 2009. Jerry Trainor is the only actor from the cast who lends his voice to the game, the rest of the characters' speech being dubbed with typing sounds on a keyboard. On May 13, 2009, Nickelodeon announced they had reached an agreement with
Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...
to produce an '' iCarly video game'' for the Nintendo DS and Wii. The game was released on October 28, 2009. The cast lent their voices in the videogame. A sequel, '' iCarly 2: iJoin the Click!'', was released on November 16, 2010, for the same platforms. On December 4, 2009, an app was released for iPhone and iPod Touch titled "Sam's Remote", consisting of an interactive version of the remote Sam uses on live casts of ''iCarly'' in the show, where one pushes different buttons and they make silly sound effects. Available through the iTunes App Store for $1.99 download.


Products

An Apple MacBook and iPhone are parodized with the logo of a pear instead of an Apple. Additionally, the "Pear Phone" is pear-shaped.


Spin-off series

Two spin-off series have been proposed as pilots for Nickelodeon, and were both announced during the network's presentation at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour on August 3, 2012. The first is '' Sam & Cat'', which paired
Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...
from ''Victorious'' and Jennette McCurdy together in a traditional "buddy sitcom" setting as their characters, Cat Valentine and Sam Puckett. They played roommates who launch a babysitting business together. The show was picked up by Nickelodeon on November 29, 2012, and premiered on June 8, 2013. The series was cancelled on July 13, 2014, with the final episode airing on July 17. The second proposed spin-off featured Noah Munck's character Gibby Gibson into a self-titled sitcom named ''Gibby'' where the character works at a recreation center as a mentor to four
middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...
students. Even though a pilot was filmed, ''Gibby'' was not picked up as a series, and the pilot episode has never aired.


See also

* ''
Drake & Josh ''Drake & Josh'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon. The series follows two teenage stepbrothers Drake Parker ( Drake Bell) and Josh Nichols ( Josh Peck) as they live together despite opposite personalities. Th ...
'' * '' Victorious''


Notes


References


External links

*
Nickelodeon page

YTV (Canada) website

Paramount+ page
* {{Authority control 2007 American television series debuts 2012 American television series endings 2000s American high school television series 2010s American high school television series 2000s American teen sitcoms 2010s American teen sitcoms 2000s Nickelodeon original programming 2010s Nickelodeon original programming English-language television shows Television controversies in the United States Television series about teenagers Television series created by Dan Schneider Television series by Schneider's Bakery Television shows set in Seattle Middle school television series Television series about siblings Television series about social media