After three seasons, the iCarly reboot has been canceled at Paramount+, ending the series abruptly on a cliffhanger. iCarly first premiered on Nickelodeon in 2007 and became one of the network’s biggest and most memorable hits from the 2000s. It was a teen sitcom that was funny, creative, wacky, and capitalized on kids’ and teens’ dream of making it big during the earlier days of social media. The original series came to an end in 2012 but was revived nearly a decade later by Paramount+.
iCarly‘s revival saw Miranda Cosgrove, Nathan Kress, and Jerry Trainor reprise their original roles as Carly Shay, Freddie Benson, and Spencer Shay, respectively. It also added Laci Mosely and Jaidyn Triplett as new regulars. The series follows the characters’ adult lives, exploring their careers, relationships, and even experiences with parenthood. While the show is PG-TV, it did mature quite a bit from its Nickelodeon days. Rebooting or reviving a show with a legacy like iCarly is a risky feat. However, iCarly has proven to be an extremely successful reboot, even earning 100% on Rotten Tomatoes for its first season.
Viewers enjoyed that it maintained the same tone, spirit, and humor but modernized and matured itself. In the age of TikTok and the possibility of going viral on social media, iCarly‘s main focus on several friends gaining internet fame felt even more relevant now than in 2007. Its departure from Nickelodeon was also appreciated after original iCarly star Jennette McCurdy shared troubling experiences while working with the network as a child star. Unfortunately, now iCarly has come to an end once more.
iCarly revival’s surprise cancellation
On October 4, 2023, a spokesperson for Paramount+ confirmed to People that the show had been canceled. The cancellation came as a shock, as the show’s third season did quite an excellent job setting up another installment. Season 3 concluded on July 27, with the final episode dropping a massive bombshell with the arrival of Mrs. Shay, Carly and Spencer’s mother. Their mother has never been seen or mentioned over the show’s original run and revival. Only in the season 3 finale did viewers finally get an answer when Carly revealed that their mother abandoned them as children.
The episode ends with the mother making a surprise appearance at Carly and Freddie’s wedding, which neither Carly nor Spencer seem thrilled about. Needless to say, viewers were anxious to see what happens next with Carly’s long-lost mother. Unfortunately, they will never get the full scoop on what happened with Carly and Spencer’s mother.
Why was iCarly canceled at Paramount+?
Paramount+ did not not provide a reason for a cancellation. According to a spokesperson for the company, “iCarly will not be returning for a fourth season on Paramount+. The series had a great three-season run and delivered on what fans really wanted to see with Carly and Freddie finally getting together. We want to thank the entire cast, the writers, directors and producers along with the whole crew for their dedication, creativity and talent.”
It doesn’t provide viewers with many answers, and many would probably disagree that they were ready for the show to end just because Freddie and Carly finally got together. Meanwhile, Paramount+ doesn’t share its viewership data, making it difficult to tell if that was a factor. Even though the actual data isn’t shared, Paramount+ did list iCarly as one of its most-watched original series in 2021. Still, despite the lack of transparency, it’s not uncommon for low ratings to result in a seemingly surprise cancellation. Meanwhile, though the show’s first season boasted a 100% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, none of the other seasons received critics’ reviews, and the audience reviews were also scarce, suggesting that interest may have been waning.
There is also the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike and the recently resolved WGA strike. One of iCarly‘s writers, Franchesca Ramsey, was a particularly prominent voice advocating for the rights of actors and writers during the strikes. There’s no evidence that iCarly was canceled due to the strikes or in retaliation to striking creatives, but uncertainty around the strikes could’ve been a factor. Unfortunately, unless Paramount+ provides an explicit reason for the cancellation or someone from the show speaks out, it will likely remain unknown why iCarly met such an untimely end.
(featured image: Paramount+)
