Everyone knows who Hannah Montana is. But perhaps only kids know she's been unseated as TV's reigning tween queen by one Carly Shay.
When no one was looking, Carly, the plucky 15-year-old star of the Nickelodeon comedy "iCarly," overtook Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana" -- and this year, "American Idol" -- in the ratings race for young audiences.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 Metro Desk 1 inches; 32 words Type of Material: Correction
'iCarly': A caption for a photo accompanying an article on the TV show "iCarly" in Tuesday's Calendar section identified Dan Schneider as the show's director. He is a writer and executive producer.
Miranda Cosgrove, who plays Carly, is still a name that draws quizzical looks while Miley Cyrus sells out Cineplexes and concert stadiums. Nor is Cosgrove the whirlwind of controversy that Cyrus has been. On Sunday, Cosgrove posted to her Twitter page: "Just finished 5 more hours of math. At least this afternoon was fun! My first real driving lesson!" -- a far cry from Cyrus' recent bio (dating a 20-year-old, a Jonas brother and posing provocatively for Vanity Fair.)
And yet, in its second season, "iCarly," which follows the misadventures of three friends who produce a Web show about, well, nothing in particular, has grown into TV's No. 1 series among kids (ages 2 to 11) and tweens (ages 9 to 14), drawing an average 5.6 total million viewers to new episodes.
So how did Carly do it? Unlike her scandal-attracting peers, she's got the Web working with her instead of against her.
By design, "iCarly" is the only kids' show plugged seamlessly into the online world, a playing field populated by blurbs of random, often outrageous comedy. Series creator Dan Schneider has been savvy enough to plot the "iCarly" Web segments as randomly as any teen would their YouTube channel.
During the show-within-a-show webcasts, which the characters film in Carly's attic, Carly and her friend Sam (Jennette McCurdy) demonstrate making chicken soup in a toilet. They create trailers spoofing teen movies (you can actually find "Kelly Cooper, Terrible Movie" making the rounds on YouTube). They morph Carly's head on to a picture of Sam's rabid cat. They improvise short sketches with names like "The Cowboy With a Mustache and the Idiot Farm Girl Who Thought the Mustache Was a Squirrel."
"When I pitched the show, [Nickelodeon executives] asked, 'What's the Web show?' I said, 'Whatever we want,' " Schneider said. "iCarly" is his fourth live-action show for the network; he previously created the hits "Zoey 101," "Drake & Josh" and "The Amanda Show."
It's frantic, silly and never predictable. "I don't know who else besides us could say they've run over a microwave filled with toothpaste in a monster truck," said McCurdy.
