The idea for this story came to me while watching CBS Sunday Morning. They like to do "where are they now" segments on past celebrities, particularly if their careers are still going. I thought it might be fun to take a peek into the lives of the iCarly girls when they're 28 years old.
This story's going to hit a little close to home for some people involved with the real iCarlyTV show, so I'm going to include a disclaimer this time. I do not own iCarly. I don't own the life stories of these characters, except in my own mind. These characters are fictional and no relationship to real persons is implied. I do not own CBS Sunday Morning or any of the ideas associated with that show.
Unfortunately, some of the comments on my last story have prompted me to add this disclaimer as well. Some fans are Creddie, some are Seddie, and some of us realize the one true relationship in the show, even if Nickelodeon won't take it to fruition. This is a Cam story. If that makes you uncomfortable, please stop reading now, and thank you for NOT reviewing. For anyone staying with me, reviews, as always, are appreciated.
Hi. I'm Anthony Mason and this is SBS Sunday Morning. Our cover story today, on the eve of groundbreaking for the Reagan Monument: The life, the presidency, and the legacy of Ronald Reagan. Then our own Jessica Alton will sit down with two of the first media darlings from the Internet Age: Carly Shay and Sam Puckett from the pioneering iCarly web show, and see where they are now. Also, commentary from Mo Rocca, and our Moment of Nature. But first, the headlines for today, August 6, 2023...
"Back when the internet consisted only of two dimensional images, text, and video on a monitor screen, they had the hottest web show on the planet. Their zany and madcap antics eventually reached over one million viewers per week, and they won the iWeb awards for best comedy a record-breaking four times. Nine years later, their last episode still ranks in the top twenty most watched videos on Splashface. We're talking about Carly Shay and Sam Puckett from iCarly.
"Both girls have gone on to successful careers in the media after their web show ended. Carly is a successful TV producer, having created many of the most successful shows on the teen-oriented network, Calliope. After fighting her own battle with weight loss, Sam has gone on to write a series of healthy eating cookbooks, and has her own show on the Cooking Network.
"Ladies, let's go back to 2007, and iCarly. Where did you get the idea to do a web show?" the young blonde reporter asked.
Sitting on the rear deck of their spacious Los Angeles home, with the city's skyline in view behind them, the brunette and the blonde looked at each other, then shrugged. Carly spoke first, "Well, Jessica, Sam and I had been asked to film the auditions for our school's talent show. My brother's video camera was otherwise occupied, so we got our friend, Freddie Benson, to help us film. Some of the acts were so bad that we couldn't help making comments about them. In the end, the wrong video got uploaded to Splashface. It turned out that people thought our comments were hilarious, and wanted more. That's when we got the idea to do a weekly show, with Freddie as our technical producer."
"Fast forward to 2014, and the end of iCarly. What made you decide to quit making the show?"
Carly continued, "Freddie and I had both just finished college, and we felt like it was time to move on to bigger and better things. The show had a great run. Seven years was an eternity on the internet."
"You went to the University of Washington. What was your major?"
"I double majored," Carly said proudly. "Communications and Drama."
"And you, Sam?"
Sam looked slightly nervous as she spoke, "Well, I'm more of a trade school kind of girl. I went to the Seattle Culinary Academy, where I graduated third in my class."
"If there's anything Sam's passionate about, it's food," Carly explained, laughing a little.
"Speaking of passionate, some of our viewers may not know that the two of you have been legally married since 2016. How did you meet?"
Sam spoke up this time, "When we were eight years old, I tried to steal Carly's lunch. I was kind of a bully back then and she stood up to me. She earned my respect, and we've been best friends ever since." She reached out and took her brunette wife's hand.
"And when did friendship turn into something more?"
It was Carly's turn to answer again, "We were always closer than most friends. I think some of the people around us noticed it before we did. Even some iCarly fans had noticed. Anyway, in our senior year of high school, I had just come off a bad relationship, and Sam jokingly suggested that maybe we should just date each other."
Sam spoke up now, "It wasn't entirely a joke. I had been having um... feelings for Carly for a while by then. I'm not real good at controlling my mouth, and it just came out. I didn't expect it to go anywhere, though, but I underestimated her. Two days later, she surprised the chizz out of me by saying we should go for it."
Carly cut her partner off, "I'd been having romantic feelings for her, too. I'd been trying to deny it to myself by dating a lot of guys, but when she said that, it was like 'Yeah, that makes total sense' and we just went from there."
"So you only dated men before Sam?"
Carly answered in a matter of fact tone that suggested the reporter change subjects, "Neither of us has ever dated any other girls."
Sam jumped in to defuse the situation. "California had finally legalized same-sex marriage when we were seniors in high school. Just before we moved here, I proposed. We were married a year later."
"Why did you move to California? You're both from Seattle, correct?"
"Yes, we were both born and raised there," Carly explained. "After I graduated from U-Dub, I came to California to pitch some shows to the Dingo Channel. I had some ideas I thought were better than anything they had on at the time. They weren't interested, and I almost gave up and went back to Seattle, but Sam suggested I try the Calliope Network, across town. They were very interested. They bought one of my ideas, The Miranda Show, and hired me to produce."
Sam continued, "I had been working in a little diner in Seattle. Decent, honest pay. One night, Carly calls and says they bought her idea. Without hesitation, I gave my two weeks notice and got ready to join her in LA. She came home to pack up some stuff and say goodbye to everyone, and I took her out to dinner to celebrate."
Carly picked up the story seamlessly, "She took me to the Palomino, one of my favorite restaurants, down by the water. We were having a wonderful time, and the next thing I know, she's down on one knee with a ring. I think the whole restaurant cheered when I said yes, and the waiter came over with two glasses of champagne, on the house. The owner recognized us from iCarly."
"The Miranda Show was one of the Calliope Network's biggest hits, and you've gone on to create and produce two more shows for them. What's the secret to your success?"
Carly was deep in thought for a few moments, then she answered humbly, "I guess I just know what teenagers like. Maybe from all those years of doing iCarly."
"Sam, your road to success was a little bumpier..."
"Yeah, when I first got here, I got a job at Cecconi's through some family connections. It's a nice, trendy place, and the pay was good, but I was getting kind of bored. I was also getting fat. Carly was always working late, so I'd usually eat dinner at the restaurant. I never ate real healthy anyway, but all that pasta started to pack on the pounds. Before I knew it, I was over 270.
"I knew I had to make a change, for myself and for Carls. My blood pressure was out of control, and I was about one Fat Cake away from full blown diabetes. Not to mention that as a couple, we looked less like iCarly and more like Laurel and Hardy."
"I always thought you were beautiful regardless," Carly interjected, kissing her wife's cheek.
"Awww, thanks Cupcake," Sam cooed, earning a smile from both her partner and the young reporter. She continued, "After going through all other options, my doctor suggested weight loss surgery. After a long, sleepless night talking to Carly about it, I decided to have RNY Gastric Bypass. I lost about 130 pounds, and my medical conditions resolved. Slowly, though, the pounds started to creep back on, and I realized I was still eating crap, just less of it.
"By then, Carly was making enough money that I could quit my job at the restaurant, and I became very interested in nutrition. I decided that maybe I could put my culinary training to use and make healthier versions of the stuff I like. My first experiment was a low calorie, high fiber Fat Cake – Mama loves her Fat Cakes. Carly liked them, and I sent some to our friend Gibby, who was battling his own weight problems. He actually offered to buy the recipe off of me, and Carly suggested I write a cookbook. That's how Fast Food Without the Weight was born. It was the number one cookbook on the New York Times best seller list for 30 weeks. A few more followed it, and eventually Cooking Network called and wanted me to appear on a special. That lead to the Without the Weight series."
"Carly, it sounds like you were very supportive of Sam's weight loss efforts..."
"Of course. Weight's never been much of an issue for me, but compared to Sam, I eat like a rabbit"
"Not just eat..." Sam mumbled.
Unfortunately for her, her wife heard. "Sam!" Carly cried, using the same exasperated tone she'd been using on the blonde for the last two decades. The brunette was blushing bright red.
The young reporter was laughing. "I see what she means about controlling her mouth. She says things like that a lot?"
"Unfortunately, yes. I love her to death, but I sometimes wonder how we became friends at all. We're total opposites," the brunette replied.
"Yeah, but opposites attract," her blonde partner countered. "Would you rather have been friends with Melanie?"
"And Melanie is?"
"My identical twin," Sam replied. "She's married to our old tech dork – I mean friend – Freddie. They live in Cupertino, where she's an ER nurse, and he's VP of R&D for Pear Computer." Sam had tried not to let the sound of pride sneak into her voice, but failed.
"Melanie's got the same personality I do," Carly picked up. "But how many times can you go to Build-A-Bra or Glitter Gloss? I don't think we'd have been best friends after 20 years, let alone together."
"My director is signaling that we're almost out of time. One last question to you, Sam. Give me three words that describe Carly."
"Beautiful. Upbeat. Cupcake."
"And you, Carly, three words for Sam?"
"Hot. Sexy. Mama!"