In 5, 4, 3, 2..
iCarly is iBack in a brand new series, and to celebrate, below is a hand-picked selection of interviews with the cast and crew of the all new revival! The first three episodes of the all-new
iCarly premiere on June 17, exclusively on
Paramount+, with new episodes debuting weekly. To find out more about the new series of iCarly,
click here!
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‘iCarly’ Stars Promise ‘Some Things Remain the Same’ in the Paramount+ Revival
It’s time for the members of iCarly‘s nation to wake up and join her on Paramount+, as Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove) enters the spotlight again, nearly 10 years after the original Nickelodeon series concluded.
The last time fans saw Carly, she was heading off to Italy to live with her father overseas, bidding viewers, her brother Spencer (Jerry Trainor) and friends Freddie (Nathan Kress) and Sam (Jennette McCurdy) farewell. Now, she’s back in Seattle and all grown up, living with her new bestie Harper (Laci Mosley) in the building where she grew up.
“It was crazy seeing the set for the first time in all these years,” Cosgrove tells TV Insider. “Just walking on it made me really happy and also a little sad, just because it reminds you of all of your experiences. But overall, it’s been such a great experience,” the actress gushes.
When the show picks up, Carly is working on reviving her popular web series. “She’s navigating trying to be on the internet and having a YouTube channel for the first time in 10 years,” Cosgrove explains. Helping her are Spencer and Freddie, along with Harper, and Freddie’s adopted stepdaughter Millicent (Jaidyn Triplett).
And while Carly will have to overcome the challenge of working on a new version of her show, pal Freddie is just working on keeping it all together. “A lot of life has happened to him — he’s twice divorced,” Kress reveals. “He is a tech entrepreneur that immediately failed and is now living with his adopted stepdaughter in his mom’s apartment.”
Fans will have to wait and see what exactly led him there, but rest assured there’s some interesting change on the horizon. “In a weird way, he’s come kind of full circle in the last 10 years,” Kress says, “but a lot of rough stuff has happened along the way, and it’s very much changed his outlook and his approach to things.”
Spencer, on the other hand, has been living it up after success in the art world. “Spencer lucked into fame and fortune when one of his sculptures accidentally caught fire and it became this incredible artistic statement,” Trainor teases. “Now, he’s rich and famous, so he remodeled the apartment. ”
But while Trainor says they’re “grownups” in this more mature revamp, he also admits that “Spencer’s kind of the same, and I’m happy to be that guy…The kids are all grown up, but some things remain the same.” That sameness includes the nuts onscreen antics for Carly’s show as Cosgrove confirmed that “we do baby Spencer in the pilot.” (Yes!)
While some fans might be missing Sam (McCurdy, who also starred in spinoff Sam & Cat post-iCarly, quit acting several years ago) Carly’s friend Harper is bringing a new level of flair to the show. “She really makes Carly step out of her comfort zone,” Cosgrove says.
“Harper’s character really reflects what it’s like to be a millennial,” Mosley adds. “You get to see her navigate what a lot of millennials faced when they got out of school. And also in dating, Harper is bi, so she’s interested in women and men and we get to navigate that space as well.”
When it comes to the web series though, don’t expect Harper to be too hands-on. “This is the first time that we’re going to really see Carly step into her own power,” Mosley shares. “So, Carly is going to be running iCarly…and Harper has her own interests.”
However, Freddie’s stepdaughter Millicent is the one hurdle Carly might have to overcome. Triplett hints that the youngster “can be sarcastic; she can also be very nice to you; she can be manipulative.” The young girl sees Carly as competition for her own digital future.
“She thinks [Carly]’s old and weird,” Triplett says. “She definitely is very competitive when it comes to Carly.” Perhaps she’ll be able to learn a thing or two from the “original influencer.” As Cosgrove says, the characters that fans came to know over the years on Nickelodeon “have a lot more life under their belts.”
Despite the passage of time, Carly’s fans are sticking by the webcaster. “In the pilot, I talk about telling all the old iCarly fans that we’re starting the show back up again,” notes Cosgrove. “I think she has 3 million subscribers.”
“She’s doing pretty well, but she’s working at it,” Cosgrove says of her character’s efforts to relaunch her web series. Thankfully with the fervor surrounding this Paramount+ title, it feels like Cosgrove and her castmates will have an even easier time reconnecting with old fans than their onscreen counterparts.
iCarly, Series Premiere, Thursday, June 17, Paramount+
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Miranda Cosgrove Is Spilling All the Deets on What's to Come With the 'iCarly' Reboot
Everyone is talking about it: The hit Nickelodeon teen sitcom iCarly is back. After the original show's final episode aired on November, 23, 2012, fans have been hoping and praying to the TV gods that the show will come back. And now producers have made it happen — after nearly 10 years.
The original show centers around Carly (Miranda Cosgrove), who created in-show vlog iCarly with her best friend Sam Puckett (Jeanette McCurdy) and Freddie Benson (Nathan Kress).
Now, viewers are wondering what the plot of the new show will entail. After all, audiences have grown up with the show, and delivering the same teenage-inspired content may not work well with the reboot.
It turns out that Miranda Cosgrove is spilling all of the tea on what fans can expect with the revival. And the show will definitely serve up a more mature Carly and crew. Read on to get the full scoop.
Miranda Cosgrove reveals that the show will address real-life issues like dating and relationships.
When you have a storyline that has worked over the years, it’s easy for producers to stick with it. After all, the saying, "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it," is popular for a reason. But, when you’re dealing with characters who have grown in front of the camera, it’s important for the show to grow with them.
Miranda Cosgrove shared that iCarly will address how the characters have grown over the years in regard to relationships, friendships, and their lifestyles.
"Carly has gone through a lot over the last 10 years — all the characters have," Miranda told EW. "With the Freddie character, he's gone through a couple divorces. Spencer has become very wealthy, so there's a lot of different dynamics and different things going on."
Carly has also gone through a plethora of changes, and like many women in their twenties, is trying to find herself.
Miranda said that Carly has moved on with college and has become very successful, but she’s "kinda in-between" where Freddie and Spencer are.
"We're getting to explore different things with [what] the characters go through that we would never have been able to do before, that's a lot more like stuff that's happened in our real lives and things that people in their twenties and thirties go through," Miranda told the outlet.
The 'iCarly' revival will also focus on Carly starting up her web show again.
iCarly reeled fans in with wacky content such as talent shows, random dancing sessions, recipes, and more. Now that Carly is picking things back up in her twenties, the web show will take a more mature yet still fun approach.
"She hasn't done iCarly in a long time, and she decides to start it up again in the pilot," Miranda told the outlet. "So we're exploring what her new show is. And even though it's iCarly, it's not the same as it was before. So we've been exploring a lot of different things with that, just like what a 26-year-old would really be doing if they had a YouTube channel nowadays."
And since the show is being filmed in the midst of the social media era, chances are, platforms like Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram will play a role in how content for iCarly is created.
The revival is also set to give viewers backstory on the characters you know and love, with the promise of the return of some fan-favorites as well. Fans can expect to see Carly’s nemesis Nevel Papperman (Reed Alexander) and Nora Dershlit (Danielle Morrow), the stalker iCarly fan, on the show, per EW. However, there is no telling if Carly’s best friend Sam will make a return.
So, it looks like iCarly will deliver the same wise-cracking content that viewers love, with an adult-focused approach that millennials will appreciate.
Catch the premiere of iCarly on Thursday, June 17, 2021, on Paramount Plus.
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Miranda Cosgrove Reflects on Teen Fame Ahead of iCarly Revival: 'Growing Up on TV Was Challenging'
The iCarly revival premieres Thursday on Paramount+
Miranda Cosgrove is opening up about the challenges of teen fame.
Speaking with PEOPLE, the actress, 28, gets real about growing up in the public eye, reprising her role as Carly Shay in the upcoming Paramount+ iCarly revival, and whether or not she has any regrets.
"I think one of the most challenging things growing up making iCarly, I went through my awkward phase and completely grew up on the show," says Cosgrove.
"So when I look back at all the episodes, even though I remember the fun times and I can laugh, sometimes when I see the outfits I'm wearing, I just know how I felt during those moments in some of the episodes. It's so weird to think that when you're a kid growing up on TV, people are watching you go through all that awkward stuff and figuring out who you are," she continues.
Starring on the original hit teen sitcom, which aired on Nickelodeon from 2007 to 2012, Cosgrove was looked up to by viewers as a role model - a position that she calls "flattering" and "scary."
"I feel when I was little and people would call me a role model, I think it always was really flattering, but it's also scary because when you're a little kid and someone's calling you a role model, it's like, 'Oh no, I don't want to let anyone down,'" she explains. "But you also aren't fully formed and you don't really know how to be a role model. So there are nice things about it but it's also challenging."
Now, the Los Angeles native - who began appearing in TV commercials at age 3 and starred in School of Rock alongside Jack Black at 14 - is gearing up for the premiere of the iCarly revival, which she both stars in and executive produces.
"I feel from this experience in particular, I've learned a lot of things really fast that I never knew about before," Cosgrove says. "I'm getting to help edit all the episodes. I've never edited anything in my life. So just even seeing all the behind the scenes things, even talking to the set designers from the very start, figuring all that out and seeing how they put the sets together. These are all things that I've never done before. So it's just been a real learning process and I've really enjoyed every second of it."
"And I also just feel like I've gotten better at speaking up for myself because when you're being asked questions all day long about, 'Where should this go? What should we do, and do you think your character would say this,' you really start to get used to it. People are looking to me and asking me questions, so I feel it's been really empowering and that's one of the things that I'm most proud of from this experience."
The revival, set 10 years after the Nickelodeon classic, will follow Carly and her friends navigating love, family and friendships in their 20s.
"It's kind of funny because in the show iCarly, Carly's character goes to college after she is in Italy with her dad for a few years, she goes to college and then she ends up coming back to the show. iCarly was like me in real life," she says. "And she starts up the show for the first time in 10 years. So when we were doing the scene, it was kind of weird for me just because that's exactly what I'm doing. I'm starting the show again for the first time in 10 years. So there are a lot of moments like that within the show where it really mirrors my real life."
Reflecting on her journey, Cosgrove - who finds joy in taking care of her five animals and fostering other pets - is grateful for every step that has led her to this moment.
"I wouldn't say I have any regrets because I am really grateful for all the opportunities I've had and I do think even hard stuff makes you who you are," she says. "And I think I had a lot of amazing experiences making the show. I wouldn't change anything, but I am grateful for this experience because I think it's just made me kind of see it in a new and even better light than I did before."
The iCarly revival premieres Thursday on Paramount+.
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ICARLY PREDICTED TODAY'S INFLUENCER CULTURE LIKE NO OTHER SHOW
MIRANDA COSGROVE PLAYED THE ORIGINAL SOCIAL MEDIA STAR BEFORE INSTAGRAM AND TIKTOK. IN THE SERIES'S PARAMOUNT+ REVIVAL, SHE'S ALL GROWN UP
In 2007, when actress Miranda Cosgrove first signed onto the role of Carly Shay, the bubbly yet ambitious heroine of Nickelodeon’s iCarly, many social media outlets were still in their infancy. Back then, Myspace and Facebook were the internet’s dominant networks with their customizable profiles and user-friendly feeds. Twitter was only a year old; Instagram and TikTok didn’t yet exist. It was in this Wild West-like digital environment that, for many millennial fans, Carly became the first true influencer, launching a quirky, adventure-filled web show reaching thousands each week.
“Influencers just get younger and younger all the time,” Cosgrove tells MTV News. “When they first approached me about making iCarly when I was 12, I didn't know what a web show was. And I remember when they told me about it, I thought, ‘People aren't gonna relate to that, because I don't even really know what that is.’ And then when we got to around the third season, all of a sudden, people started making YouTube channels. All these kids were starting to make content online.”
The series ended in 2012, and nearly a decade later, the digital landscape has transformed tenfold. The influencer culture iCarly predicted has become bigger than Cosgrove could’ve ever imagined. High-profile Instagrammers are treated like celebrities, gifted thousands of dollars in products and free trips. Children under the age of 10 can earn millions of dollars annually posting YouTube videos unboxing toys. It’s in this new world that Carly Shay makes her return to the screen on Thursday (June 17) in an iCarly reboot on Paramount+, a time when anyone with an iPhone, a ring light, and a passion for the craft can build a platform of their own — and one where Carly is sure to face some fierce competition.
The revival picks up 10 years after the events of the original’s final episode, in which Carly moves to Italy to live with her dad on a military base. In the years since, she and her crew have grown up and remained close, despite following separate paths. Each must face the challenges that come with young adulthood in their own way. Her older brother Spencer (Jerry Trainor) is now a wealthy artist. Her childhood best friend Freddie (Nathan Kress) has gone through a divorce and adopted a stepdaughter named Millicent (Jaidyn Triplett). Carly herself lives with a roommate, Harper (Laci Mosley), in the same apartment complex as Spencer and Freddie, still trying to find herself as a mid-twentysomething.
At 28, Cosgrove has also done some growing up since the show’s sixth season concluded. She began her acting career at the age of 7 performing in commercials before landing her breakout as the type-A band manager in Richard Linklater’s School of Rock. From then on, she and her family would set aside money she earned from each role — in addition to Carly, she played Megan Parker, the mischievous younger sister to Drake Bell on Drake and Josh — and put it in a college fund. After iCarly ended, Cosgrove attended the University of Southern California, where she initially planned to study film.
“It was just always really important to me to go and to get the college experience,” Cosgrove says. “When I got there, I started realizing I had to pick a major that I'm going to use possibly later in life. I started off with theater, then I realized I'm not very good on stage in front of an audience. And then I switched to film and I really enjoyed it. But also I'm not really trying to direct or write, so I switched to psychology. I guess that's what college is for, figuring out what you want to do and what you're interested in.”
In many ways, these experiences are reflected in the iCarly reboot, which promises to be more mature than its predecessor by putting its beloved characters in adult scenarios. Carly goes on dates. In one scene captured in the trailer, Spencer offers Freddie “hot wings, hot Cheetos, hot pretzels and hot beers.” Some may even be scandalized hearing Spencer yell, “Damn it,” when asked to recreate an old bit from Carly’s web show. “My experience filming the show, especially the pilot, has been a lot like my experience in real life,” Cosgrove says. “Because Carly's starting her web show for the first time in nearly 10 years in the pilot, and she's nervous and she's excited. That's exactly how I felt in real life, starting the show for the first time in almost 10 years.”
To that end, the show knows its audience — web-literate young adults who grew up alongside Carly — with various Easter eggs hidden throughout the season they will surely recognize. For one, the theme song will remain the same, with updated opening credits. In another case, Cosgrove had recreated the “interesting” meme, which depicts her character from Drake and Josh gazing suspiciously at a computer screen, that recently went viral. This reimagining will feature in an upcoming meme-themed episode of iCarly, which was inspired by the treasure trove of fan-altered images of herself online stemming from her numerous performances. Those that have trended in the last year alone have been used to satirize everything from unhealthy relationships to sexual awakenings.
Memes come and go, but the people in them enjoy brief tastes of internet fame. With instant live streaming and apps at the tip of your fingers, tools that were nonexistent when iCarly first aired, it’s easier than ever to create and curate a web presence. Anyone can go live via Instagram, TikTok has become a hub for “random dancing” bits, and viral moments on Twitter have a fairly quick shelf life. While the new iCarly addresses these changes in technology, fans will immediately recognize the show’s several “Pear” products, which are satirical takes on popular Apple offerings. There’s Carly’s iMac-esque Pear computer and then, of course, the PearPhone; a pear-shaped take on the iPhone, which comes in a variety of colors.
“We love the PearPhones and we didn't want to not have them,” Cosgrove says. “But because the show is a little more mature now, and the PearPhones look a little bit childish, we did a take on the PearPhone where it looks like an iPhone, but the logo on the back is a pear, instead of the entire iPhone being shaped like a pear. We had a lot of discussions about the PearPhones and trying to figure out the best way to keep them.”
Cosgrove’s characters were staples of many millennials’ childhoods, but Carly is the one to whom she feels the closest, in part because she reflects her own coming of age. When Carly was learning to navigate the internet and social media, Cosgrove was learning in tandem. As Carly would interact with fans via fan mail, Cosgrove was learning how to talk to fans via Twitter. During pivotal moments in Carly’s life, Cosgrove experienced them too. But even as she faces new challenges of her own, just as this revival captures, there will always be something about the role that feels fundamental to who she is.
“I had my first kiss on iCarly playing Carly,” Cosgrove says. “I had almost all of my childhood birthdays on the set of iCarly. I grew up making the show, so it's definitely a character that I'm always gonna love.”
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CREDDIE FANS:
Will iCarly 'Go There' With Carly and Freddie? The Revival Cast Weighs In
You’d be hard-pressed to find an iCarly fan who didn’t (at least once!) consider the chemistry between the show’s titular vlogger and her mama’s boy of a producer. Now that the Nickelodeon series is returning in a more adult form on Paramount+, is an attempt at romance in the cards for Carly Shay and Freddie Benson?
“Neither of our characters’ love lives are going very well on the show,” Miranda Cosgrove admits to TVLine, explaining that Freddie has already been divorced twice. “Carly doesn’t have kids and has never been married, but every time she tries go on a date, it ends poorly. She and Freddie are definitely both single and friends, so you never know!”
Nathan Kress is similarly on the fence, though he admits, “It’s a question that I’ve wondered myself. There’s a lot of life that would need to happen for a lot of characters on this show before [Freddie and Carly dating] becomes a viable conclusion, but I truly don’t know. If it makes sense, maybe!”
On the topic of Freddie’s failed marriages, Kress insists that they weren’t “100 percent” his character’s fault. “Freddie probably had a lot of maturity issues that he needed to go through,” Kress says. “What we’ve also learned is that Freddie falls fast. He has become the most hopeless romantic, and he gets caught up in story a lot. He’s also trying to be a good guy. I mean, who else is going to adopt his stepdaughter and retain custody even after the divorce? Few people other than Freddie would find themselves in these situations.”
So, how do the show’s new additions feel about a potential Carly-Freddie romance? Laci Mosley, who plays Carly’s roommate Harper, says, “It’s definitely something I was rooting for as a child watching the show. It’s funny to want other kids to kiss. But as adults, it’s fun to watch them navigate this will they/won’t they thing.”
And Jaidyn Triplett, who plays Freddie’s stepdaughter Millicent, says, “There’s definitely a chance between them. Both of their love lives are going down in flames!”
To be fair, the original iCarly did explore a relationship between Freddie and Sam. But now that Jennette McCurdy has made it clear — like, crystal clear — that Sam isn’t returning to iCarly, we couldn’t help but wonder.
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'iCarly' star Miranda Cosgrove on 'figuring out who you are' in your 20s: 'You learn so much'
Miranda Cosgrove is ready to step back into the shoes of her favorite television character Carly Shay with the revival of iCarly on Paramount+. But after nearly a decade of exploring her own identity separate from the onscreen persona that so many know and love, Cosgrove is more prepared to portray Shay as the young adult that she herself is today.
"I just feel grateful to have the opportunity to do this again," she tells Yahoo Entertainment of returning to iCarly. "It is really fun getting to play the character at 27 years old and to see how she navigates it, kind of with the knowledge that she had from before and also just trying to figure out who she is today. She’s never really stood on her own two feet before. She’s really trying to figure out how to do it on her own and make sure that all of her content really represents who she is."
At the time that the show premiered on Nickelodeon in 2007, the concept of the show was one of a kind, chronicling the journey of two young teens who decide to start a web show from their own home. "That really wasn’t a thing people did back then," Cosgrove says. Today, however, with the rise of Gen Z influencers on TikTok and other social media apps, it's way more common — as are the complications that come with it.
But as Cosgrove has grown up, so has Shay, as fans who watched the show the first time around will get to see.
"When I did the original series, I as 13 when I started. A lot of the things that I went through back then on the show were things that I was going through in real life. I think I had my first kiss in real life like a few weeks after my first kiss on the show," she recalls. "I kind of feel the same way about this time around. When we started off this season, I was 27, and we did a whole episode about Carly turning 27 and being really nervous about 27 for some reason."
With that, it's been important for Cosgrove, now 28, to incorporate some "real stuff" about adulting into the series. She even explains that she drew inspiration from her friends.
"I definitely wanted Carly to represent me and a lot of my friends and all of the struggles that you go through in your 20s," she says. "You learn so much in your 20s and you go through so many things that you never expected to happen. Struggling with getting your dream job after college when it’s much harder than you would’ve imagined. And just figuring out who you are still."
And while that self-exploration is difficult for anybody at Cosgrove's age, she notes that the pandemic stripped away a lot of the newfound independence that 20-somethings have, as many — including herself — spent time back at home with their parents. Still, she managed to find the silver lining.
"I definitely got back into talking on the phone and FaceTiming. I also got very into just eating, too. Into food. I feel like food really got me through the pandemic," she jokes. "Even though there are a lot of things that are not good about the pandemic, I think I’m always gonna look back on the time that I spent with my parents and be happy I had it."
As for embarking on the next chapter of her life and the show, Cosgrove just hopes that iCarly brings joy back into people's lives.
"I think that’s what iCarly was always about," she says. "It’s kind of letting people know, don’t be afraid to be yourself, don’t be afraid to be weird. I love that about it, and I just hope it makes people happy."
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‘Nevel has continued to exist in my head’: Q&A with ‘iCarly’ star and Boca Raton native Reed Alexander
Boca Raton native and TV star Reed Alexander is stirring up trouble again on the new “iCarly” revival.
Alexander, 26, will reprise his role as Nevel Papperman on the young-adult sitcom, which will premiere on the Paramount+ streaming service on June 17.
On the original hugely popular and Emmy-nominated Nickelodeon series “iCarly,” which aired from 2007 to 2012, Alexander’s character Nevel was a snobbish web critic who antagonized main characters Carly, Sam and Freddie and their popular web show, iCarly, after Carly refused to kiss him.
When “iCarly” ended, Alexander quit acting to pursue journalism, inspired by the reporters he interacted with as a child star. He has a master’s in journalism from Columbia University and lived in New York, though he returned to Boca Raton during the pandemic. He now is a finance reporter for Insider.
Here’s what Alexander says about revisiting his character, meeting “iCarly” castmates old (Miranda Cosgrove, Jerry Trainor and Nathan Kress) and new, and what he’s up to now.
What should viewers expect from the grown-up Nevel Papperman?
Old habits die hard. If you remember all the things [fans] loved about the character from the original show years ago — his big vocabulary, his really theatrical dramatic persona and his penchant for nefarious tricks — I think you’ll be very satisfied.
What started your acting career in South Florida?
I was a member of the drama club at Pine Crest [School in Boca Raton]. Those experiences really showed me at a young age that I love being onstage, and I love the art of acting. We had a teacher, Debra Blakely, who was the most phenomenal coach that anyone could hope to have. She knew that I had ambitions to do this professionally, and she kept encouraging me, but my parents had some real apprehension about me at 8 years old pursuing a professional career in acting. I was a very willful kid.
I left the [acting] industry, so coming back to “iCarly” was a real change for me. I’ve been a journalist now for almost seven years.
You’ve left acting to be a journalist, but your character, Nevel, keeps bringing you back. Why?
So many people over the years have stopped me to say, “Your show, ‘iCarly,’ was a huge part of my childhood.” That’s something that [the cast] hears a lot, which is a really amazing compliment and a real privilege. I met someone the other day who almost got choked up when he was talking to me about what the show meant to him throughout his teenage years.
Nevel has continued to exist in my head off-screen for eight years. Of course, we all wonder where our characters would be now. So to not answer that question about where Nevel is now in the remake, I feel like a lot of people would have been very disappointed.
It’s not as though I’ve been out canvassing to do this. I’m very happy in the life that I have as a reporter. But to be able to reprise this role, there’s such a great sense of bringing the band back together. I hope that my presence in the revival is able to make somebody laugh. I know it made me laugh and made me feel very grateful to have this opportunity.
What makes South Florida a place that grounds your work?
So many things about Florida sing “home” to me. I live very close to the beach, so I really enjoy taking advantage of our proximity to the water. There’s one little French bakery in Mizner Park that I used to go to for my favorite croissants growing up. When I go for Japanese food, I love to go for sushi at Lemongrass [Asian Bistro]. I had a couple of fun dinners at Flagler Steakhouse at The Breakers.
How did you feel about returning to “iCarly”?
I was nervous that after eight years I would have some difficulty remembering lines. I remember [being] on the plane out to California, thinking, “Oh gosh, is this going to work? Am I going to really remember how to do this?”
It was so natural to get back into that role and I think part of it is, I also was getting to visit Nevel, my old friend and character that I played for so long.
I was most looking forward to seeing the original castmates and meeting the new castmates. The show has two new stars [Laci Mosley and Jaidyn Triplett] who are really phenomenal.
When I think back to when I first auditioned for “iCarly” years ago, I could never have known that, 14 years later, I would be going back on a plane — in the middle of a pandemic, no less — to go to California to see my old friends and to bring the show back again. What a gift that so few people get.
“iCarly” will premiere June 17 on Paramount+.
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The "iCarly" Cast Finds Out Which Characters They Really Are | BuzzFeed
The cast of “iCarly” (Miranda Cosgrove, Jerry Trainor, and Nathan Kress) joined BuzzFeed to find out which OG character best matches their personality. Who got Freddie? Carly? Sam? GIBBEH??? You can find out in 5, 4, 3, 2…
iCarly star Laci Mosley is ready for viewers to meet her Schitt's Creek-esque character Harper
The actress and comedian opens up about being welcomed on the Paramount+ revival.
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| Laci Mosley as Harper on 'iCarly' | CREDIT: GISELLE HERNANDEZ/PARAMOUNT+. |
Laci Mosley is having a moment.
Literally - she only has a brief window in her busy schedule to chat as she's wrapping up a scene on the set of the iCarly revival series (premiering Thursday on Paramount+). She can also be seen in season 2 of HBO's acclaimed A Black Lady Sketch Show, and she hosts the popular comedy podcast Scam Goddess.
Over the phone, the actress and comedian - who some audiences first met on Pop's Florida Girls - is warm and a hoot to talk to. She's "elated" for original iCarly fans to re-enter Bushwell Plaza nearly 10 years later and catch up with OG influencer Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove), plus meet new faces, including her character, Harper, Carly's best friend and roommate.
"I'm not nervous about fans seeing the show or my character. I'm excited. I'm elated. I'm really proud of the work that we're doing here," Mosley tells EW. "This show really honors the fun camp that iCarly was, but it's a new conception and it is a millennial show. If you grew up watching this show and you're the age that these people are on the show, you're going to feel like you grew up with them."
Mosley is one of those people who grew up alongside Carly, Freddie (Nathan Kress), and Spencer (Jerry Trainor), though it's hard to say if the latter has matured over the years.
Stepping on the set for the first time, it felt like "I was walking into a museum," Mosley says. "I'm just touching everything."
In the lead-up to the show's premiere, fans have learned a bit about Harper, an aspiring stylist and the child of a formerly wealthy family. Mosley also teases that Harper's journey reflects a bit of what characters in another beloved series went through.
"It's a fun situation with Harper that does kind of mimic Schitt's Creek of where you get to see this woman who's adjusting to life as a 'regular,'" Mosley says. "And lots of fun jokes about how she used to be rich and, you know, the man who did TED Talks is a close family friend."
On the show, we'll find Harper working at a coffee shop to make ends meet while she strives to fulfill her dreams. A fashionista herself, Mosley was pumped about all the chic outfits she got wear on the series, including an original piece "that was made for Janet Jackson and there's only one in the world. And somehow our amazing stylists got it."
Harper is also bisexual, as Mosley is, though the performer says the writers intended for the character to be queer before she was even brought on.
"That wasn't a question I was asked when I tested for the pilot," Mosley says. "It just happened to be a coincidence that they hired a bisexual woman to play a bisexual woman, which they were all elated about."
Harper's dating life will be explored in the revival, and Mosley previously told EW that it will be "interesting and all over the place" for the "messy queen."
And it wouldn't be iCarly if Harper didn't have a few quirks of her own, including name-dropping like it's her job and putting on "wild accents" (plus telling the occasional lie).
Coming from an improv background, including performing at Upright Citizens Brigade, Mosley jumped at the chance to pitch jokes for Harper. She was "happy and proud" that many of her jokes made it into the final scripts, though she quips that she won't give them away "for free" before iCarly debuts.
As with other comedies, the show would do a "fun pass" where the actors got to ad-lib after they completed all the takes, and occasionally they ended up in the final cut, Mosley says. When asked who the best improviser was, she doesn't hesitate to name Trainor.
"Jerry Trainor is a boss," she says. "There's certain things that he can do as a comedian that other people just can't replicate. And he's constantly making me laugh and break. I've seen him do some wild physical bits. And sometimes we're running out of time and I'm seeing this man wrestle with a fake animal and they get it in two takes and it's astonishing and hilarious."
Trainor and Mosley's other castmates made her feel like she "belonged the first day, which was a wonderful surprise," she says. "Miranda's fantastic. Jerry's amazing. He gives me dating advice. Nathan's super-cool. Jaidyn [Triplett] is really sweet. So the transition didn't feel awkward or weird."
It was thanks to them that Mosley felt comforted after she became the target of racist comments on social media in May, shortly after her addition to the series was announced and promotional materials featured her and Triplett. Things got so bad that social media accounts for iCarly and Paramount+ addressed "reports of racism" in a statement reshared by cast members, which said such behavior was "not acceptable." Paramount+ and the show also posted subsequent statements saying they stood "against all instances of hate and racism."
Mosley says that "at first, I was taken aback by some of the vitriol. Obviously I've been in a brown body my entire life and racism is nothing new, but all of it at once was quite overwhelming."
Fortunately, her costars were behind her, to an extent that she realize about until later.
"I wasn't even the one who made the network aware of it, I believe that that was Jerry," the actress reveals (a representative for the show confirmed this with EW). "Having that kind of support behind the scenes and not even knowing how supportive everyone was until we all spoke, it just touched my heart. To have a cast, a network, a crew, a writers' room of people who are not just talented in the ways of comedy, but they do their part to make the world a better place. And seeing everyone rally together and really condemn hate was so comforting to me."
Additionally, Mosley says the situation proved which viewers actually took iCarly's messages to heart.
"After a lot of the negative comments was an overwhelming wave of positivity from what I call real iCarly fans, who are loving and positive and represent what the show was, which was fun, nice people having a good time in a weird world," she adds.
The haters certainly won't stop Mosley from thriving, she says, "Because at the end of the day, racism isn't going to stop me, baby girl. I've been Black my whole life. I will keep being Black and loving it."
Case in point: Mosley reveled in working with the likes of Issa Rae, Reagan Gomez, and Jesse Williams in the sophomore season of Robin Thede's A Black Lady Sketch Show, which dropped in April.
"Honey, I was alive," Mosley recalls. "We were doing a night shoot. I was staring at the sky, and Jesse walked up to me and he's like, 'Hey, what are you looking at?' I was like, 'Oh just the stars. You can't see them in L.A.' And he goes, 'Oh, let me point out the constellation to you.' So now I have Jesse Williams from Grey's Anatomy pointing out constellations to me. I would have never thought that that would be my life."
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Laci Mosley on the Surreal
Experience of Bringing Back iCarly
Reboots are a dime a dozen these days. This time, it’s the campy teen classic iCarly that’s back for more. Ten years after the series finale, the show’s new chapter follows members of the original cast (Miranda Cosgrove, Nathan Kress, and Jerry Trainor return) as they wrangle with more mature fare. To kick up the nostalgia factor, the pilot episode was directed by none other than Phill Lewis (who played Mr. Moseby in the millennial childhood classic The Suite Life of Zack and Cody). Premiering today on Paramount+, the reboot also welcomes a few fresh faces to its ensemble. Among the new cast members is Laci Mosley (also a mainstay on A Black Lady Sketch Show) who plays Harper, Carly’s best friend and roommate. Below, Mosley spoke with us about bringing her favorite childhood show back to the screen, the newfound maturity of the reboot, and the other shows she’d love to raise from the dead.
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JULIANA UKIOMOGBE: Hey, Laci!
LACI MOSLEY: Hi, Juliana! Are you having a good morning?
UKIOMOGBE: I am. How are you?
MOSLEY: I’m great. I’m in the hair and makeup trailer.
UKIOMOGBE: Oh cool, are you on set?
MOSLEY: Yes, I am.
UKIOMOGBE: Lovely. We love to be working.
MOSLEY: Honey, we love to be booked and busy.
UKIOMOGBE: So, we’re here to talk about all things iCarly. Were you a fan of the original show?
MOSLEY: Yes. Doing the show is really surreal because I grew up as the same age as these characters. Nathan Kress, Miranda Cosgrove, and I are all around the same age. So I basically get to walk into a living museum of my childhood. I watched the show growing up and now I get to walk back into some of the original sets and see the original set pieces, like the jukebox. I felt like I was at Madame Tussauds.
UKIOMOGBE: What was the audition process like?
MOSLEY: The audition process was probably not traditional. I got a call from my agent on a Saturday saying that Nickelodeon and Paramount had reached out for me to test for iCarly. So I never even originally auditioned for the show. It was just a test kind of situation, but they were like, “The showrunner will hop on zoom with you today if you want,” and I was like, “Really? Absolutely.” So I hopped on the phone and we talked about the show and about the vision and what they were interested in and what I was interested in, and immediately I fell in love. I’m really interested in working with kind, smart, talented people because Hollywood’s oftentimes filled with too many awful, egotistical monsters. So I really wanted to do the show.
UKIOMOGBE: What year did this all take place?
MOSLEY: This was in 2021. I had just finished A Black Lady Sketch Show when I got the test offer. I tested and then I found out at the end of the week that I got it. Then the next week I started working. It was really quick.
UKIOMOGBE: Yeah, that’s a fast turnaround. Tell me about your character Harper. What does she add to the dynamic?
MOSLEY: I think that Harper’s character adds a lot of fun and an adult millennial perspective. She used to be rich, but now she’s poor. She went to college and now she has debt and is unemployed. So I think that she adds a lot of the millennial perspective. She’s also Black and queer and it doesn’t feel forced. It feels like a natural, real-life human being. I am also queer and I really fell in love with the character because she feels like me.
UKIOMOGBE: Is this a more mature approach to the show as opposed to the original?
MOSLEY: Yes. If you were a fan of the original iCarly and were around the same age as those characters, it’s a really cool experience because you get to grow up with them. The reboot picks up almost ten years later and now, it’s a more mature version. Sometimes there’s a little cursing, sometimes there are some adult situations, but you can still watch it with your mom.
UKIOMOGBE: Are you excited for it to finally be out in the world?
MOSLEY: I’m so excited for people to see it. It comes out on June 17th on Paramount+ and they’re going to be dropping a couple of episodes at once, so you’ll get to binge a little bit. I’m excited to watch it. The trailer came out last week and then the intro to the show came out this week and watching it was really surreal.
UKIOMOGBE: Can you speak a bit about some of the backlash your character received, simply for being a Black woman? Did you anticipate that reaction or did it surprise you?
MOSLEY: As a Black woman, I’ve been in this little brown body my entire life, and so racism isn’t quite a surprise to me, but I will say that no matter how much of it you experience, it still hurts and it still feels fresh and new. I certainly didn’t think that being employed as a Black woman would become a radical political statement. I didn’t think that people would be upset about my skin color and certainly didn’t expect people to call me the N-word over and over on multiple social media platforms and make TikToks that my little sister is seeing. It was disappointing and it was disheartening, but at the same time, I was overwhelmed right after that by the support of the real iCarly fans—those who aren’t filled with hate and who loved the show. There are more people like that than these sick, racist people. There was also an overwhelming amount of support from the cast and crew, I mean, right down to the camera department. Everyone was rallying around me and really expressing how much we don’t condone hate. So overall it was a rough experience in the beginning because I was taken aback and emotional, but at the end of the day, I was really impressed and felt very loved by all the support that came after.
UKIOMOGBE: I can’t imagine that experience, but I’m so excited for people to finally see the show and to see how much you add to the dynamic.
MOSLEY: Thank you! I am too. I think people are going to love it. I always say the heart of iCarly was camp. It was a weird world where there were no parents at the time, really. We keep true to that, but now they’re adults. So you can still watch a fun campy show that allows you to escape from your reality, and they may bring up stuff that you relate to now as an adult like you did when you were a kid.
UKIOMOGBE: Do you have a favorite storyline that you can tease for us?
MOSLEY: Let’s just say that there is a point where these characters are going to get scammed, and I host a podcast called “Scam Goddess,” so I’m very, very into scams. It’s a really fun episode.
UKIOMOGBE: Oh, love that.
MOSLEY: I mean, the scammers are out here, girl.
UKIOMOGBE: They really are. Are there any other shows that you’d like to see rebooted or reimagined?
MOSLEY: You know what I want? I want Rugrats back. I want grown Rugrats. I want to see what Angelica is up to.
UKIOMOGBE: I know they’re rebooting The Proud Family, so that might be cute.
MOSLEY: Oh, that’s going to be amazing. That show was so good. And shout out to Beyoncé and Solange for that theme song that lives forever in my head.
UKIOMOGBE: They did God’s work with that song.
MOSLEY: Amen.
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'iCarly's' Laci Mosley on Playing Harper, Queerness on Screen and Millennial Struggles
Laci Mosley is the breakout star of the iCarly revival on Paramount+. No, Nickelodeon isn't doing re-runs of the hit teen show, iCarly is actually back with a brand new series, featuring the majority of the show's main cast—Miranda Cosgrove, Nathan Kress, and Jerry Trainor.
There are some new faces in the cast of the revival and very welcomed ones at that. Namely Laci Mosley who takes on the role of Carly's "ambitious, fun and a good time" roommate Harper, alongside Jaidyn Triplett as Freddie's social media-savvy stepdaughter Millicent Benson.
It would be fair to say when news of the show's return was announced, a lot of the conversation surrounded the casting of Laci Mosley as Carly's new friend and her so-called replacement of Carly's childhood best friend Sam, played by Jennette McCurdy.
McCurdy declined to return to the reunion as she is working on her book and other acting projects, her representatives shared with Newsweek.
Miranda Cosgrove Says 'iCarly' Very Different From Original Idea for ShowREAD MOREMiranda Cosgrove Says 'iCarly' Very Different From Original Idea for Show
In a conversation with Newsweek, Mosley reflects on the pressures of taking on the role of Harper and her nerves around how her character would be received.
Mosley says: "There was a lot of vitriol. People were really upset that one of the original characters didn't come back and thought that I was replacing her but I was overwhelmed after the show came out.
"I didn't watch the show when it dropped. I was so nervous just because of everything I'd been through. I went to sleep. And Franchesca Ramsey [iCarly writer and producer] texted me at one in the morning that I was trending on Twitter above the show, and I was terrified. And I was like, 'Am I gonna doomscroll?' Okay, let's do it.' And I clicked on it. And there was so much positivity, so much love."
Mosley describes the iCarly set as a "museum" and her first day on set as "surreal" after growing up watching the show.
Mosley insists she could never have imagined a "way or space I would appear and work on a show that I used to watch when I got out of school." She herself was approached to play the role of Harper by co-showrunner Ali Schouten and the rest is history.
Mosley landed the role of Harper Raines, Carly's hilarious best friend and roommate.
In Episode 1, viewers learn Harper grew up in a wealthy family who lost all of their money when she was in her late teens.
As a result, Harper had to take on a minimum wage job as a barista and was stuck working there for four years, only able to dream of becoming a fashion stylist.
Despite her wealthy background, Harper is most definitely relatable, believes Mosley. She explains: "I think she's very much the typical millennial who went to college, got a degree. And now is having to do the side hustle to get to the main hustle. So you know, she wants to be a stylist. But right now she's working at 'Skybucks'—that coffee name sounds familiar.
"Like every other millennial we got out of college, we thought that it was going to be set, we would be able to buy a home, we'd be able to have a career and then we came out, we're like, 'oh, this is, this is what's happening? Oh, okay'.
"Well, you know, it wasn't like it has been in the past for boomers and other people, like we came out and didn't have the safety net so you get to see that, especially if you watch the show originally, you basically get to grow up with these characters.
"There are new friends, new people, just like it would be in your real life. And you get to see like, how they navigate the world."
There is another part to Harper that makes the iCarly revival even greater than anticipated.
Following in the footsteps of shows like Elite, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Schitt's Creek, the iCarly reboot includes a queer character and truly, in the best way possible way, Harper's sexuality isn't even addressed.
Mosley, who was outed by a magazine before her own parents knew about her sexuality, says she felt she had some sort of responsibility to make sure queerness was portrayed accurately on screen.
She credits writer-producer Franchesca Ramsey and co-showrunner Ali Schouten for being "in the room" and listening to her critiques, opinions, and voice to make Harper the best version of herself.
Mosley shares: " I have a different experience now. Because I've always been a dark-skinned Black woman in Hollywood and that's been what people see me as, it's how I've been identified, and a huge part of the struggle to be an actress. So to step into a role where I'm playing the queerness, that is also myself, and taking on this new responsibility in ways, it was nerve-racking because I have a lot of privileges being a cisgender woman, and even being a bisexual woman—bisexual men are treated so much more harshly than us.
"I didn't want to take up space in an area where there are so many other marginalized people that I could be uplifting their voices but at the same time, I wanted to make sure that this character was done right.
"Harper's queer. I'm also queer. And it's not something that's addressed on the show like she's coming out or a big deal. She's just queer, and it's fine, and nobody cares. And I think that that's so amazing because we really haven't gotten to that point in television where, you know, characters can be bisexual or gay or trans.
"And it's not something that's talked about. These people are just living their lives. And I think that that's such an amazing thing for young kids to see, especially if they're queer, you could just be who you are. And it doesn't have to be a whole lifetime movie special."
With two episodes to go, it is still early days to know if iCarly will return for a second season but one thing is for sure, Mosley is 100 percent down to return.
In the meantime, Mosley is working on developing her podcast Scam Goddess into an unscripted TV series and taking a well-deserved rest, "hopefully."
iCarly drops every Thursday on Paramount+.
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Rising star Jaidyn Triplett talks "iCarly" and following in her father's footsteps
WASHINGTON (ABC7) — Nickelodeon’s ‘iCarly’ ended nearly a decade ago and fans have been eager for an update on the classic character. Their wish was granted with a new reboot on Paramount+, with original stars back on set along with a few new faces, including 10-year-old Jaidyn Triplett. She joined us alongside her father and fellow actor Joshua.
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Leading up to the revival, Carly was
hosting Italian QVC and college radio.
iCarly premiered with the first three episodes on Thursday, June 17th. The remaining 10 will then drop weekly, exclusively on Paramount+. Try it FREE today at
ParamountPlus.com - use promo code "MOVIES" for a 30-day free trial!
Watch the
iCarly Reunion special
here!
Originally published: June 16, 2021 at 01:57 BST.
