In 5… 4… 3… 2… wake up the members of my nation; the revival of iCarly is coming back for season 3! The wildly popular Paramount+ revival has seen huge success with both original fans and new, likely due to its balancing of new mature themes with nostalgia from the original series.
The original iCarly was a massive success for Nickelodeon in the late 2000s and early 2010s, with the highest-rated episodes even reaching more than 10 million viewers. It’s no surprise that reviving the comedy was one of Paramount+’s first objectives after its launch. Set a decade after the original, the revival continues to follow Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove), her brother Spencer Shay (Jerry Trainor), and next-door neighbor Freddie Benson (Nathan Kress). New characters include Carly’s friend Harper (Laci Mosley) and Freddie’s adopted daughter Millicent (Jaidyn Triplett).
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The third season will continue the story of Carly and her friends as they make content for a modern-day Internet, very different from what it was in 2007. The show also has to grapple with that major cliffhanger from the season 2 finale (more on that later). The first two seasons had no shortage of returning cast, so could we see more OG characters return? Here’s what else we hope to see in the third season of iCarly.
The Actual Web Series
Paramount+
When iCarly debuted in 2007, streaming media was basically non-existent. YouTube was still in its earliest days, and the idea of a series produced exclusively for the web was almost unheard of. That is what made iCarly so groundbreaking back in the day. Kids could tune in and see people about their age having fun and doing whatever they wanted on their very own Internet series.
Nearly every single episode of the original series featured Carly and Sam Puckett (Jennette McCurdy) performing comedy skits for their hundreds of thousands of online fans.
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While the revival definitely banks on nostalgia, one area where that is lacking is in the web series itself. In the series premiere, we see Carly restart her channel and perform classic bits from the OG like “Baby Spencer.” However, throughout the rest of the first season, the web show seems to fall to the wayside.
We see bits and pieces of the show here and there, but there are several episodes where the web series isn’t featured at all. This continues throughout season 2 as more focus is given to the characters themselves.
Building character development is not a bad thing, as the show has a lot to address from the decade it was off. However, what made the original iCarly stand out versus other teen shows was the web series itself. Nowadays, everyone can do what Carly did back in the day simply by picking up their phones and recording.
Focusing on Carly trying to maintain her relevance as one of the originals in a world where everyone is a streamer could be a great place to go in the new season. It could continue character development by showing Carly adapting to the changing world. Plus, who wouldn’t want to see updated versions of the best running gags from the original web show?
Returning Guest Stars
The first two seasons saw countless members of the original cast stop by for guest appearances. Some of the more notable ones included Nora Dershlit (Danielle Morrow), Nevel Papperman (Reed Alexander), Chuck Chambers (Ryan Ochoa), and Lewbert (Jeremy Rowley). Mrs. Benson (Mary Scheer) also returned, still keeping a very watchful eye on Freddie.
While seeing these familiar faces undoubtedly brought a rush of nostalgia, we are still missing some. What has T-Bo been doing since the Groovy Smoothie shut down? How about perpetually angry teachers, Ms. Briggs and Mr. Howard? Will Gibby return to his old friends? Perhaps some OG cast that already made guest appearances could return again in season 3.
Fans love seeing these old faces return and fill them in on what they’ve been doing since the original series ended. Keeping this going with more returns in season 3 (particularly with fan favorite T-Bo) could keep the original fans coming back for more.
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One character we should cross off the returners list is Sam Puckett. With what we know from Jennette McCurdy’s memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died, it is unlikely she’d ever want to revisit this world.
Creddie at Last?
Don’t think we missed the massive season 2 finale cliffhanger. For those who may have forgotten, Freddie’s girlfriend Pearl ends their relationship after he admits that Carly knows him better than she does. Pearl accuses the two of sharing feelings, which neither of them disputes. This scene likely brought viewers back to the earliest days of the original series, when Freddie harbored an unrequited love for Carly.
The two did share a brief relationship, but feelings faded over the course of the show. That didn’t stop fans who wanted the two to be together from shipping “Creddie.” The show attempted to distance itself from the ships and remind fans that it was about the comedy through the clever meta episode “iStart a Fan War,” where in-universe fans of the web show shipped “Creddie or Freddie and Sam, “Seddie.”
Now, 15 years later, it seems that the “Creddie” issue is far from over. If the revival does some fan service and finally pairs Carly and Freddie together, it would present a significant change for both their characters. Dating in middle school is very different from dating in your late 20s. Maybe Carly and Freddie are ready to pursue a serious, adult relationship.
However, if the relationship doesn’t work out, the show runs the risk of permanently changing these characters we’ve loved for years. Even if they don’t end up dating, there are still unresolved feelings on both sides they need to work through. If done well, season 3 could allow both Carly and Freddie to grow and truly understand the role they play in each other’s lives.
