Common Sense Media Review
By Ashley Moulton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Grown-up Nickelodeon classic leans heavily on nostalgia.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
iCarly (2021)
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 15 parent reviews
What's the Story?
Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove), her brother Spencer (Jerry Trainor), and Freddie (Nathan Kress) reprise their original characters 10 years after the original iCarly series ended. Carly is a 20-something who has finished college but is uninspired by career options in the real world. She decides the best way to find happiness is to revive her old iCarly video channel with Spencer (a famous sculptor) and Freddie (a washed-up startup guy) beside her. Her best friend Sam from the original series is not in the 2021 reboot, and Carly explains her absence by saying that Sam is "following her bliss" in a biker gang. Carly lives down the hall from her brother (still in the Bushwell Plaza apartment building) with new character Harper (Laci Mosley), a formerly wealthy down-on-her-luck barista with dreams of becoming a stylist. Freddie's snarky tween stepdaughter Millicent (Jaidyn Triplett) is another addition to the cast. Millicent is trying to become an influencer too and mostly makes fun of Carly for being "an old." When she's not trying to revive her influencer career, Carly is also trying to find success in the dating department. She desperately wants to find a partner and makes questionable decisions in her pursuit to land a guy. Can Carly win back her channel's audience and find love in the process?
Is It Any Good?
Fans of the original iCarly will probably feel like they're catching up with an old friend, but anyone who's coming to it as a new viewer will likely watch and wonder "why?" The intended audience of this reboot is a bit of a mystery. It's not tweens like the original series: the grown-up plot lines make it pretty irrelevant for kids. It's possibly meant for fans of the original series, who are now 20-somethings like the characters on the show, but it's hard to imagine adults finding the slapstick humor and shallow storylines entertaining as grown-ups. The original iCarly series was amazingly prescient and predicted the era of influencers, but for today's kids Carly's an "old" who's still video streaming and probably doesn't understand TikTok. Carly's whole boy crazy/not serious about intellectual pursuits trope isn't really a good look on an adult character in 2021. And while the jokes have been updated to be somewhat more progressive, and there are finally more racially diverse main characters, the show still relies on stereotypes for humor. The best part of this reboot is the new character Harper, whose outsized portrayal by Laci Mosley is genuinely funny.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about being a creator/influencer on social media like iCarly. Do the positives (self-expression, influence) outweigh the negatives (internet trolls, need to get likes)?
Carly spends a lot of time focused on dating. How do you think TV show characters like hers affect how kids think about love and romance?
Carly's a young adult in this show. Would you like to have a life like hers as an adult? Why or why not?
TV Details
- Premiere date: June 17, 2021
- Cast: Miranda Cosgrove , Jerry Trainor , Nathan Kress , Laci Mosley , Jaidyn Triplett
- Network: Paramount+
- Genre: Comedy
- Topics: Friendship
- TV rating: TV-PG
- Award: Kids' Choice Award
- Last updated: July 8, 2024
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
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