The actress opens up to ET about finally making #Creddie official on the Paramount+ series.
Miranda Cosgrove is weighing in on fan reaction to Carly and Freddie making their relationship official on iCarly. In season 3 of Paramount+'s revival series, the two friends finally confessed their feelings for each other, putting years of longing and questions of "will they, won't they" behind them as they went public with their romance.
"It felt really good to actually see Carly and Freddie be together," Cosgrove told ET during a visit to the New York City office. "When I read the script, I was like, 'Sixteen years, finally it's happening,' So it was a little bit of pressure though because Nathan and I really wanted to make sure it delivered because people waited for so long. But it was a big relief when the episode came out and it seems like people really enjoyed it, so that was awesome."
The actress and executive producer shared that Carly and Freddie's kiss wasn't originally in the script and that it was actually improvised, making the moment all the more memorable for fans.
"When we're making iCarly, the writers are always on set and they come over and they'll throw out ideas and we'll do different things almost every take," she explained. "So it's not pure improvisation because the writers are coming up with different ideas and throwing them at us but it keeps us on our toes and it's really fun filming that way. And we never know what's going to end up in the final cut, so the very last take of the scene with Carly and Freddie finally professing their love to each other. The very last take ended up being the one that ended up on the show -- and it was the only take where Freddie goes '5, 4, 3...' and Carly kisses him."
Because of the amount of time that's passed, Cosgrove felt the 16-year wait for "Creddie" to work out was worth the wait.
"I think it does make sense for Carly and Freddie because, in the original show, Freddie has a crush or loves Carly from the very beginning. And even though he's her best friend, and Carly loves him back, she doesn't really see him that way," she said. "And it kind of feels like throughout the whole series, it was just the wrong timing, like Carly either loved Freddie and Freddie is married, or Freddie loved Carly and Carly doesn't see him that way. Like, it's just never perfect. This really felt like it was the moment when they were both at the right places in their lives and could finally go for it."
In the current third season of the revival, which drops new episodes every Thursday on Paramount+, adulting continues to be complicated for Carly and her friends. Carly and Freddie struggle to redefine their relationship, a.k.a #Creddie; Spencer seeks a return to his roots; and Harper's reunion with an old rival leads to an unexpected outcome.
"One of my favorite things about getting to be a part of iCarly for all these years is that people will come up to me and say, 'I grew up with you,' and when I made the original show, I literally grew up making the show and now I'm making it as an adult. So, when people come up to me and say, 'I watched it when I was little and now, I'm watching it again as an adult,' it's crazy to think that it was a part of their lives and that people really enjoyed it," Cosgrove said. "Obviously it's a huge part of my life. It just feels really good. It's also almost hard to fully wrap my mind around that it always makes my day and makes me feel good when people say that."
She went on to say that she and her castmates, Jerry Trainor and Nathan Kress, "feel so lucky that we got to relive this experience together." "They're like my family. They're like two of my closest friends. So, to get to go through the same thing again, but as adults and have people watching the show again, I appreciate it so much," Cosgrove praised. "The fans have stuck with this show for so long. And yeah, it's just it's been a great experience throughout my life."
The 30-year-old actress acknowledged she didn't think it was a possibility for her to step into Carly's shoes again, let alone play her as an adult. When asked how long she foresaw her playing the character, Cosgrove left it up to fate.
"You never know where life is gonna take you. I could see myself playing Carly as long as people are enjoying watching the revival, but I also don't want to overstay our welcome," she said, "and I feel like people have been so nice about it and really responded well, so I want to make sure that we don't do it for too long, but we ended on the perfect note."
While there's no end date in sight for this iCarly revival, Cosgrove admitted she's run through the gamut (and then some) playing as Carly, but she had some ideas for new things she'd like to do should it receive a fourth season.
"I've definitely dressed up as pretty much everything for the show. It's hard to even come up with anything new. I would love to do more sketches on the show when we come back because we don't really do as much of that on the new series as we did in the original. I'd love to get to do some more of that," Cosgrove said. "I was a farm girl [in] the original one and that was always really fun. I'd love to reprise that and I love to come up with some new things. It's just fun getting to play a character that's so crazy and silly and herself and doesn't care about [anything]. It's an easy character to play because it's a lot like me in real life. I'm just having a good time."
New episodes of iCarly drop Thursdays on Paramount+.
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