By Natalie St. Denis
The smash hit sitcom “iCarly” was a memorable part of many childhoods. The show features a group of friends from Seattle, Washington that created their own comedy webshow. Carly Shay and Sam Puckett took the world by storm with their quirky skits, with the help of their cameraman, Freddie Benson who didn’t do much except stand behind the lens swooning over Carly.
The premise of the show sounds simple. But looking back on it now, the show was really just a bunch of nonsense. But the nonsense somehow worked. It worked so well that one of the show’s specials received 11.2 million viewers.
“iCarly” had a whopping six seasons, and the main reason for the show’s ending was due to the lead actress Miranda Cosgrove, who played Carly, leaving for the University of Southern California.
The show definitely had some moments that made you say what the f*ck? There’s online speculation that “iCarly” exposed the rumored foot fetish of producer Dan Schneider. He somehow seemed to work feet into multiple episodes. Viewers can find feet on Carly’s older brother, Spencer Shay’s shoulders and even small faces on Carly and Sam’s toes. Critics of Schneider emphasize that the clues were overlooked.
In an article with a women’s journalism website, babe.net, Special Projects Editor Harry Shukman wrote about the odd theory that sparked rumors online. He asked why the ex-Nickelodeon producer hasn’t had his #MeToo moment.
“Youtube conspiracy videos say scenes of characters appreciate touching each other’s feet, drawing on each other’s feet, even pouring ketchup on each other’s feet, should be interpreted as clues,” Shukman wrote. “Those troubling Dan Schneider rumors haven’t gone away.”
Schneider made frequent tweets attempting to engage fans. In 2009 Schneider tweeted: “Pic! Carly tickles Sam’s very unusual toes! If you have a moment, will you please NAME Sam’s toes for us?”
Schneider was fired from Nickelodeon in 2018 due to his alleged behavior toward young actresses in his other shows “Victorious” and “Zoey 101,” as well as “iCarly.”
Actress Jennette McCurdy, who played Puckett, opened up about her struggles of having an eating disorder throughout the show in an article she wrote as a guest writer for the Huffington Post in 2019.
“At 14, I was cast in the Nickelodeon series ‘iCarly,’ and by the time I was 15, the show was starting to get popular. The stress of having to be ‘on’ all the time got to me. I became even more fixated on food and my body,” McCurdy wrote.
It’s sad to think that a show Gen-Z loved while growing up had secrets and hidden meanings embedded in the episodes. Even though the original “iCarly” fans are grown up, Gen Z still experience excitement in seeing the show on Netflix. There may be times when viewers should keep a subtle eye out for the feet content and other innuendos, such as sexual or violent images, that were missed while viewing the show at a younger age.
But this new Netflix release nevertheless, still generates a nostalgic feeling for the generations who watched when they were younger. “iCarly” was a feel good show and it will still hopefully always serves that purpose, despite the limited number of seasons Netflix made available for streaming. Netflix only included two seasons out of the six. Many fans turned to Twitter to express their frustration.
“Girls don’t want boyfriends, girls want all 6 seasons of iCarly on @Netflix_PH ????” tweeted @_ninadino.
This tease from Netflix has fans spiraling, especially because of the potential “iCarly” revival. Miranda Cosgrove posted an Instagram post of her next to Nathan Kress, who played Benson, and Jerry Trainor, who played Carly’s older brother, Spencer. Behind them reads “iCARLY SET 1.”
Since adding the series to Netflix Feb. 8, it quickly became number two on the “popular titles” page. The original fans can’t seem to get enough of the nostalgia the series produces. “iCarly” has a special place in the hearts of Gen-Z, and nothing can replace it.
