Long, long ago, before everyone with an Internet connection felt compelled to share every intimate detail of their lives with the universe on a consistent basis, there was iCarly.
Well, for the fictional characters of the hit kids’ show, that is. For the rest of us, there was Nickelodeon’s iCarly, a series about the series. From 2007 to 2012, kids and tweens were treated to a look at the lives of a Seattle middle schooler named Carly Shay, her best friends Sam and Freddie, and her big brother Spencer, who served as her guardian while their father was stationed at an Air Force base in Europe.
After realizing the potential of their comedic chemistry, Carly and Sam started their own live webcast called iCarly, where they performed sketches, talent shows, and really anything else that popped into their teenage heads. It didn’t take long before the web series took off, and Carly and Sam were Seattle celebrities. So iCarly (the web series) went for five enormously popular seasons, until Carly left for Italy to spend time with her father. And so, both the fictional web cast and Nickelodeon’s show came to an end.
At least, until now.
In December 2020, streaming service Paramount+ (which hosts old Nick shows and new, including the original iCarly) announced that it would be reviving the hit series. The main cast would all be returning, minus Jennette McCurdy (Sam), who quit acting in 2018. The revival follows a twentysomething Carly as she navigates life, boyfriends, family and career—streaming it all live on her new solo web series.
Some of the comedic gags make a return. And fans of the original may enjoy Season Three’s apparent focus on Freddie and Carly’s relationship. But Carly, much like the creative team behind the new Paramount+ series, wants to ensure it’s updated to cater to her now-adult fans.
And updated it is. While some of the new iCarly feels the same, much has changed in the nine years since the series’ end. Freddie is a two-time divorcee, Carly deals with constant relationship problems, and Spencer…well, other than his recently acquired wealth, Spencer is pretty much the same. Culturally, iCarly has tried to adapt as well; Carly’s new roommate, Harper, is openly pansexual, meaning she’s attracted to men, women, and those identifying as nonbinary. Sexual and suggestive references, alcohol use and mild language also appear, further separating the revival from its predecessor.
It’s not just the language that’s more modern. While the original took place in a world just beginning to lean into technology, the new iCarly is squarely in 2022; Freddie records Carly’s show with an iPhone and AirPods rather than a handheld camcorder, and rarely is a character seen without their phone in hand. Freddie’s stepdaughter, Millicent, is social-media-obsessed, constantly filming her surroundings to upload to her YouTube channel. “I’m making content,” she protests to Freddie when he reprimands her for filming him without his permission—then goes on to post it, despite his orders to the contrary.
iCarly reflects a world consumed by concern with public image and perception; even when Carly attempts to take the high road, saying, “I’m not doing this for likes, I’m doing it to connect with people,” she throws it out the window as soon as Freddie announces she’s earned another positive comment.
While fans of the original series might enjoy the hearty dose of nostalgia, nostalgia is really all that the new iCarly provides. Does the revival bring anything new to the table in terms of message or theme? Not really. What it does do, seemingly unintentionally, is provide a Black Mirror–esque look at how social media obsession can affect every single aspect of our lives. The idealization of the life of a social media influencer is already an issue in today’s culture; young children idolize them and the materialistic (and mostly fictional) lives they display on their channels. Do we really need that aspiration reinforced by a show that revolves around Internet popularity? Is iCarly a story that can make more of a positive influence in 2022 than it did in 2007?
The answer, to quote Spencer Shay as Carly smears an absurd amount of lotion on his face for the webcast: “No, no, no.”
Carly tries to ignore the feelings she has for Freddie, causing awkward tension between them. Meanwhile, after Freddie’s mother proposes to someone, Freddie’s adopted stepdaughter, Millicent, attempts to convince her to make her the maid of honor.
Characters make several references to sex. One man asks if Carly is having sex with Freddie, and she responds that Freddie’s probably doing so with his girlfriend, Pearl. Spencer mentions trying to woo a woman so he can sleep with her. We hear a reference to underwear, and Spencer explains to Freddie that a certain emoji is used to mean impotence. Someone is described as thinking a movie is “too sexy.” And when discussing love triangles, someone rephrases them as “sex rhombuses.” A woman’s shirt displays her cleavage.
Freddie and Spencer drink beer. To comfort Carly, Harper asks if she’d rather do “wine and crying” or “whiskey and light violence.” Harper drinks wine, and Carly drinks alcohol, too. Mrs. Benson desires to get married in Las Vegas, saying that there’s “something classy about a place where you can smoke in church.”
Someone spits on a ring, and someone references vomiting and assault. A crazy man admits to eating makeup, and when he is proposed to, he says that he’s going to dig up his mother to laugh in her face.
God’s name is abused once, and someone says “GD” to convey a similar thought. We also hear a single use of “a–” and “b–ch.”
Carly’s two jilted boyfriends join forces and create a show of their own—the main purpose of which seems to be to brand Carly as an “Ice Queen.” It seems to work: “It’s official, the internet hates me,” Carly laments. But when she invites both of her old beaus (one of whom is named Beau) onto her show to clear the air, Carly’s public love life takes an unexpected turn.
Carly’s producer, Freddie, makes out with a woman at a party. His mother tells Freddie’s apparent girlfriend, “You may sleep with him, but I’m the one who tucks him in.” Freddie is also apparently taking antibiotics to clear up an infection in his genitals, which he talks openly and embarrassingly about. A man brags about how many girls he “hooks up” with. Harper, Carly’s pansexual friend, breaks up with her girlfriend via a Zoom-like call. (They decide to take a break because they’re on two different continents and that “phone sex is illegal in Germany.”)
Harper spends most of the episode watching her girlfriend’s dog while said girlfriend is out on tour. The dog dislikes her, however, so Freddie introduces Harper and the animal to a “certified animal therapist.” When asked what, exactly, that is, the therapist says that it’s a “pet psychic with student loan debt.” She cozies up with the dog right away, of course, and tells Harper that the problem isn’t “the food you feed your dog, it’s the energy you feed your dog.”
The therapist also jokes that she could share a lot of “animal drugs” to liven up a party. She clarifies she was only kidding. “I have never done weed,” she says. Freddie tells her, “No one cool has.” Carly and her friends drink mimosas. We see characters drink whisky as well. She complains about how one of her exes always wanted to talk about craft beer.
Carly insists to both of her old boyfriends that she’s in a “hot, hot relationship! That is very hot, and very relationship!” Freddie’s mother talks about her son’s “raw animal magnetism” and “sexual charisma.” Harper recalls when she got intimate with another girl on prom night. There’s a reference to tampons. Characters say “a–,” “b–ch,” “h—” and “douche,” and we hear two misuses of God’s name.
Carly deals with a determined online “hater”, iHateCarly57. She initially intends to “spiritually embrace” him rather than return his hatred, but immediately gives up on that strategy after receiving another hate comment. Instead, she decides to meet up with him face to face.
Spencer accidentally tases himself and sprays pepper spray in his eyes, temporarily blinding him. During this period of blindness, Freddie hits him in the face with a basketball and Sarah, a woman with whom he was hoping to go on a date, slaps him.
Harper makes a joke about “kink-shaming”; she also has a woman over at the apartment for a romantic encounter, though the woman leaves before anything happens. A male barista at the coffee shop where Carly intends to meet iHateCarly57 wears heavy makeup and acts effeminately. Spencer comes over to Carly’s apartment while blind and Harper teases him that she’s naked, though she actually isn’t. Spencer asks Freddie to help him urinate, and Carly references a pair of revealing leggings that she owns. God’s name is misused six times.
After going through a tough and unexpected breakup, Carly decides to revive her old webcast, iCarly. Spencer unveils his latest artistic endeavor and tries desperately to gain the approval of Harper, Carly’s new roommate.
The iCarly revival was bumped up from the original’s TV-G rating to TV-PG, and it shows. Carly walks in on Spencer naked, wearing only an apron, though we don’t see any nudity and he quickly puts on a robe. Suggestive references are also present; Carly tells her roommate Harper, “For you, parties are a never-ending buffet of people who want to sleep with you.” She goes on to specify Harper’s interest in “hot guys, cute girls, and nonbinary lawyers”. Harper later makes a joke by quoting “my body, my choice”, a popular pro-choice slogan, in reference to drinking milk even though she’s lactose intolerant. We learn Freddie has been divorced twice, and Carly talks about having a “physical connection” with an old friend she re-met at Spencer’s party. When looking through her old props from her web show, Carly finds “George, the bra that tells ghost stories”; she says sadly, “I never did grow into you.”
Also concerning is tween YouTuber Millicent’s attitude toward Freddie, her stepfather; she records and posts a video of him without his consent, and refuses to acknowledge that he’s even her father. She repeatedly refers to him by his first name. It doesn’t help that Freddie lets her disrespect him without discipline.
The characters also occasionally drink alcohol; martinis are served at Spencer’s party, and Carly makes mimosas with breakfast. They also toast the success of iCarly’s revival with champagne. The words “a—” and “d—n” are each used once, while God’s name is taken in vain five times.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Lauren Cook is serving as a 2021 summer intern for the Parenting and Youth department at Focus on the Family. She is studying film and screenwriting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. You can get her talking for hours about anything from Star Wars to her family to how Inception was the best movie of the 2010s. But more than anything, she’s passionate about showing how every form of art in some way reflects the Gospel. Coffee is a close second.
Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.
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