iCarly is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider, which originally aired on Nickelodeon from September 8, 2007, to November 23, 2012.

The series tells the story of Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove), a teenager who creates and hosts her own web show called iCarly with her best friends, Sam and Freddie (Jennette McCurdy and Nathan Kress) in the apartment loft that she and her older brother, Spencer (Jerry Trainor) live in.

As the web show quickly becomes an internet phenomenon, the characters are tasked with balancing their normal teenage lives with the wacky situations their newfound fame lands them in.

The January 2010 episode "iSaved Your Life" reached 11.2 million viewers, the second most viewed telecast in Nickelodeon history.

[2] When Carly Shay and her best friend Sam Puckett improvise comedy at a school talent show audition, tech-savvy Freddie Benson records it and posts it online without informing them.

The trio find their normal adolescent lives thrown for a loop when they discover that they have become online sensations as their show – which features talent contests, recipes, problem-solving, and random dancing – garners international accolades.

Carly lives in Seattle with her adult brother and guardian Spencer and produces the show in a makeshift third-floor studio loft in their apartment.

Their father, Steven Shay, is a United States Air Force officer stationed on a submarine and is often mentioned, but is only seen during the series' finale episode, "iGoodbye".

[5] During production of Zoey 101, Schneider came up with the idea of the show and its name with his friend and producer of The Big Bang Theory, Steven Molaro.

[6] In late January 2011, while doing press for her North American Dancing Crazy concert tour, Miranda Cosgrove began telling news sources that she was looking forward to returning to Hollywood to begin filming a fifth season of iCarly.

[12] On April 14, 2011, Nickelodeon officially announced the fifth and final production season renewal of iCarly to begin in 2012 with the episodes airing later that year.

[2][20] McCurdy suggested during her podcast that she will not reprise her role on the series, as she has left the acting profession and felt embarrassed by her past career.

[23][24] According to DiscussingFilm, the series revival takes place 10 years after the original Nickelodeon show, following Carly's journey through her twenties alongside returning characters played by Jerry Trainor and Nathan Kress.

"[25] The series also introduces Freddie's social media-obsessed stepdaughter who sees Carly as "washed up" and as competition to her own growing influencer status.

[26] In her 2022 memoir, I'm Glad My Mom Died, McCurdy described iCarly as an unsafe work environment, alleging that someone she referred to only as "The Creator" had subjected the cast and crew to frequent emotional abuse, pressured her into underage drinking, massaged her nonconsensually, and was eventually barred from interacting directly with the cast in response to complaints about his behavior.

[28][29] McCurdy has claimed that after working with Nickelodeon, she turned down "hush money" from the network, which had been allegedly offered to her on the condition that she remain silent about her experiences with Schneider.

In the story, after the iCarly crew is nominated for "Best Comedy Category," Carly, Sam, Freddie, Spencer, and Mrs. Benson fly away to Japan to attend the iWeb Awards show.

"[51] Hollywood.com's Michelle Lee said, "Like the Lost fan rejecting every Lost-like show that came after it, I resented all of the shaky single-camera docu-style comedies that came after [Arrested Development].

The most-watched episode is "iSaved Your Life" which aired January 18, 2010, to 11.2 million viewers which is also the second most-viewed telecast in Nickelodeon history.

[123] The iCarly.com website when accessed outside the show contained many promotional videos by the cast (as their respective characters), as well as content created and sent in by viewers.

For example, web search engine "zaplook.com", video platform "splashface.com", user-generated cartoon repository "ToonJuice", online shop e-commerce site "craigsmix.com", nevelocity.com, GirlyCow.com, WebFlicks.com, RadioDingo.com, PillowMyHead.com, AggressiveParenting.com, SamPuckett.com, TheValerieShow.com, SendMeaSack.com, Beavecoon.org, NeverWatchiCarly.com, iSnarly.com, SprayYourChildren.com, WhatsWrongWithMyBody.com, and any other website mentioned on the show redirected to that page.

[124] Jerry Trainor is the only actor from the cast who lends his voice to the game, the rest of the characters' speech being dubbed with typing sounds on a keyboard.

On May 13, 2009, Nickelodeon announced they had reached an agreement with Activision to produce an iCarly video game for the Nintendo DS and Wii.

[citation needed] Two spin-off series have been proposed as pilots for Nickelodeon, and were both announced during the network's presentation at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour on August 3, 2012.