Girl Meets World

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One night when I was stayed up way past my bedtime, I discovered that reruns of Boy Meets World play on ABC Family at 7AM. Discovered is an understatement. Rather I rejoiced in the fact that one of my favorite childhood television shows hadn't been forgotten in the back of some tape room never to be viewed again. So that morning, I sat on my couch for nearly 3 hours (I'm not proud of it), quoting memorable lines like "Underpants!" and "F-f-f-feennaayyy" in time with the actors that said them (Now, that I'm proud of). I followed Cory, Topanga, and Shawn from 6th grade until they graduated from college, growing up with the characters on Friday evenings as they learned life lessons. At the age of 10, I'd pretend to be a character in the show, except I was the girl who meets the world and replaces Topanga as Cory's one an only love (Again, I regret nothing). For anyone looking for a stroll down memory lane and quite frankly, a good cry, search "boy meets world series finale last scene" on YouTube. There are millions of moments I could recall and millions more I'll never forget.

So, you can only imagine how excited I was to find out that in 2014 Disney will be premiering a spin-off to this amazing show - Girl Meets World. The renewal will center around Riley, the 12 year old daughter of Cory and Topanga with both Ben Savage and Danielle Fischel reprising their roles.  Michael Jacobs, the show's executive producer who also created Boy Meets World, stated that the show "will be rooted in the same kind of honest, comedic storytelling about coming of age and the importance of family and friendship[.]"  The show will be set in New York City, where Cory teaches history at his daughter's school and Topanga runs an after-school hangout, which I must say I'm a little disappointed about (How does my role model Topanga Lawrence - the intelligent, expressive and learned 6th grader, the girl admitted to Yale University, the woman who went to NYC to chase her dreams of working in a big law firm - end up here? There nothing per se wrong with it, I just hope they address it because I'm not sure how I feel about the message it sends).  

It is also rumored that Mr. Feeny will make an appearance in at least the pilot episode and that both Shawn and Eric have been seen on set. I'd really love to see how those two turn out. I always thought that Eric would become the next Mr. Feeny (although it seems like the creators are going for that with Cory). And Jacobs made a statement in June of this year that "nothing good is ever going to happen for Shawn", which saddens me, but I'm still hopeful that he'll make an appearance.

Many of the characters of the new show mimic those of the old one. Riley's best friend, Maya Fox (pictured below), is a bit "rough around the edges", and has strained family relationships while having strong ties to both Riley and Cory (Hello, Shawn Hunter!). The Matthews also have an older son, Elliot, who is described as having the "Eric Matthews Algernon" gene for getting dumber as the seasons continue.  There are a few other comparisons, including Riley's love interest and other classmates, that you can read about here.

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As a 25 year old woman, I'm very excited for this series, and I don't think I should be ashamed of that. Not only will I probably watch it for my own enjoyment (Disney channel is probably one of my guiltiest pleasures), but more so, I'm excited for what this show could be for middle school and high school aged children. If the buzz is accurate, Girl Meets World could be as successful as the the cult favorite that has adults rejoicing in and searching for reruns 13 years later (See comments here).

xoxo,