A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.
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Positive Messages
very little
Some satire of online culture that points out its negative aspects, and an emphasis on friendship. But there's also a strong focus on dating and a relatively shallow main character.
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Positive Role Models
very little
Carly is a strong and entrepreneurial female character, but otherwise she's not a stellar role model. She's boy-crazy, makes jokes based on stereotypes, and doesn't seem interested in intellectual pursuits.
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Violence & Scariness
very little
Mild meanness between characters.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
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Sex, Romance & Nudity
some
References to future plans for sex between consenting adults, plots that focus extensively on dating, plot that endorses importance of physical beauty, brief partial nudity (quick glimpse of the side of a buttock in non-sexual context).
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.
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Language
some
Moderate language like "damn" and "ass." Put-downs including "idiot."
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.
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Products & Purchases
some
Some clear product placement. Materialism is modeled by several characters regularly.
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
a little
Adults drink alcohol in a party setting, not to excess.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that the 2021 reboot of iCarly follows the characters from the original show all grown up as twentysomethings. Conseqeuently, the content is grown up compared to the original, with more innuendo, language, and alcohol. Characters reference "sleeping with" other characters and being "sexy," and they use words like "damn," "ass," and "idiot" and drink alcohol on screen (though not to excess). At least one episode includes a quick glimpse of a bare butt from the side. As in the original, there's a hefty dose of consumerism between the product placement and the characters' focus on material things. While the jokes have been updated to reflect 2021 sensibilities, there's still some humor based in stereotypes.
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?
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?
