Summary
- Boy Meets World was a ’90s sitcom that appealed to a wide audience due to its relatable themes, making it a show for everyone.
- Girl Meets World, the sequel that aired on Disney Channel, tackled mature topics but was limited by the network’s kid-friendly content restrictions.
- Girl Meets World could have potentially found more success on a different network like Freeform or ABC, where it could have explored heavier themes while maintaining its comedic and family-oriented atmosphere.
Anyone who grew up in the ’90s knows the story of Cory Matthews. The titular boy from Boy Meets World came of age on our TV screens for seven seasons from 1993 to 2000. Boy Meets World was unique because it wasn’t aimed at one demographic. Younger viewers could tune in to the common struggles faced by Cory, Topanga, Shawn, Eric, and the rest of the Boy Meets World Cast. At the same time, the mature themes also allowed older viewers and families to relate to it. It was truly a sitcom for everyone.
In 2014, Disney Channel revisited the Matthews family with Girl Meets World. This sequel followed Riley, the daughter of Cory and Topanga. Fans who grew up with Cory were undoubtedly excited to see him step into his new role as a father. To the show’s credit, it was more mature than its Disney Channel counterparts. However, it was still on Disney, so naturally, it couldn’t handle some of the heavier topics tackled by its predecessor. Was Disney Channel the right place for this show to land? Or could it have had better luck if it was on Freeform or ABC?
What’s Was Girl Meets World About?
Girl Meets World
- Release Date
- June 27, 2014
- Main Genre
- children
- Seasons
- 3
- Studio
- Disney XD
Girl Meets World premiered on Disney Channel in 2014 and ran for three seasons until 2017. Riley Matthews began the show just like her father did 20 years earlier, as a middle school kid struggling to find her place in the world. Riley’s best friend Maya, the Shawn Hunter of this show, was always by her side. To further the parallel, Shawn marries Maya’s mom and adopts Maya near the end of the show. Both Riley and Maya have an interest in Lucas, and their love triangle is a central focus. The unique Farkle, son of the original’s Stuart Minkus, rounds out the group as the trademark Disney Channel “weird” kid.
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Cory and Topanga are on hand to dish out life advice to Riley and her younger brother Auggie. Cory also fills Mr. Feeny’s role as the group’s teacher. Nearly every Boy Meets World character popped in from time to time to update the audience on how their lives have changed over the last two decades. The only original cast members to never appear in the sequel were Alex Desert (Eli Williams) and Maitland Ward (Rachel McGuire). Like its predecessor, Girl Meets World didn’t shy away from the less-than-ideal aspects of growing up.
Boy vs. Girl
Boy Meets World tackled several issues faced by real kids growing up (even if some aged better than others). Topics addressed included alcoholism, sexuality, child abuse, deaths of family members, abandonment, assault, racism, and many others. Despite these heavy topics, it remained a family show at its core, never losing sight of the heart behind the struggles.
Girl Meets World tried to emulate this with Riley facing her own challenges. Unlike ABC, Disney Channel is solely aimed at kids, so the show couldn’t be too risky. They did manage to do what they could, which was more than other shows of the time. Maya suffered from a difficult home life, with her single mother constantly absent and working. The Matthews became a second home for her. Riley faces a bully who damages her self-worth, with the show making an admirable decision to never depict the bully on screen. Farkle learns he may be on the autism spectrum, though the characters treating ASD like a deadly disease have not aged well. In a later episode, Farkle also learns he had a great-grandfather who survived the Holocaust.
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Topics of lifelong friendship and teenage love were popular themes. Though the show was daring for its network, some of the dialogue comes off as cringe looking back. In one episode, Maya suffers an existential crisis after earning an F on one quiz. She informs teacher Cory he “failed her” before leaving class.
She’s not entirely incorrect there, as his history class devolves into vague life lessons for the four main kids every week. The pilot episode, in particular, hammers the viewers over the head with metaphors of Cory unsure if he’s ready to hand over “the world” to Riley. Get it, he was the Boy, and now she’s the Girl. These kids had a very melodramatic middle school experience. The show did what it could with the freedom it had, but could another channel have suited it better?
Girl Meets World Could Have Been Different
What if Girl Meets World had run on Freeform? Emotional trauma and heavy themes are basically mandatory for their shows. It could have aligned better with the original series but might have lost the comedic elements. Freeform isn’t exactly known for its laugh-out-loud comedies anymore. Returning to network television was also an option via ABC. The show could have gotten away with more there while keeping the comedy and family atmosphere intact. However, if the crew did want to prioritize a younger demographic, network TV might not be the way to go. Girl Meets World debuted in a pre-Disney+ landscape, so a move to streaming would not have worked the same way it could today.
It’s possible Girl Meets World was a little ahead of its time. Soon after it ended, Disney Channel’s Andi Mack came along to fill the void. That show got away with a lot more, such as gun violence, learning disabilities, and teenage pregnancy. A character even came out as gay onscreen. It felt more honest in its themes and didn’t force issues just for the sake of issues.
Yes, Girl Meets World could have been more successful if it was allowed to reach the heights of the original show on another network. However, it does deserve props for not talking down to its Disney Channel audience when other shows just served as mindless entertainment. So, could we see another attempt at a more faithful Boy Meets World sequel? Given some of what we now know about life on the set of the ’90s hit, particularly with the female stars, perhaps we should give this franchise a chance to rest. Both Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World are available to stream on Disney+.
Stream Girl Meets World on Disney+
Stream Boy Meets World on Disney+
