iCarly
iCarly is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider, which originally aired on Nickelodeon 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) 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)[a] also works with them on the web show.
This article is about the original 2007 TV series. For the 2021 revival TV series, see iCarly (2021 TV series).iCarly
"Leave It All to Me", sung by Miranda Cosgrove and Drake Bell
- Michael Corcoran
- Jason L. Mattia
United States
English
6
97 (list of episodes)
Dan Schneider
- Robin Weiner
(supervising producer;
co-executive producer
seasons 5–6) - Joe Catania
- Bruce Rand Berman
(seasons 2–6) - Jake Farrow
(seasons 5–6) - Matt Fleckenstein
(seasons 5–6) - Arthur Gradstein
(seasons 5–6)
- Mike Spodnik
- Wayne Kennan
23 minutes
(regular episode)
September 8, 2007[1] –
November 23, 2012
Schneider was both the showrunner and executive producer, under his Schneider's Bakery label. During the first five seasons, the show was taped at Nickelodeon on Sunset before relocating to KTLA Studios in Hollywood for the sixth and final season. It was nominated for an Emmy award 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+ with Cosgrove, Kress and Trainor returning. The revival series premiered on June 17, 2021.[2]
Premise[edit]
When Carly Shay and her best friend Sam Puckett improvise comedy at a school talent show audition, tech-savvy Freddie Benson 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 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 officer stationed on a submarine and is often mentioned, but is only seen during the series' finale episode, "iGoodbye".
Broadcast[edit]
International[edit]
The series aired on Nickelodeon worldwide. 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.
Reception[edit]
Critical[edit]
iCarly received mixed reviews from critics. 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."[50] The show was awarded 3 stars by Common Sense Media reviewer Emily Ashby, who said that "[t]he show isn't designed to be educational, per se, but young viewers will learn a bit about interacting with media."[51]
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]. 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."[52]
U.S. television ratings[edit]
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.[53] On June 9, 2012, iCarly had the lowest viewership of a premiere ever, with only 2.4 million viewers.[54]
Other media[edit]
Music[edit]
Columbia Records 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.[123]
Website[edit]
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 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. The website closed down on April 4, 2018. Since then, iCarly.com now redirects to the iCarly information page on the Nickelodeon website.
Video games[edit]
An animated PC hidden object game, iCarly: iDream in Toons, was released by Nickelodeon in 2009.[124] 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 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.[125] Available through the iTunes App Store for $1.99 download.