If the network ordering 8 additional episodes of Girl Meets World is any indication of its quality – at least to Disney Channel standards – Cory (Ben Savage) and Topanga (Danielle Fishel) will likely be sticking around television for years into the future.
This week Fishel revealed on Twitter that additional episodes were ordered of the still yet-to-be-seen series:
Got the great news tonight that #GirlMeetsWorld was picked up for 8 more episodes – a total of 21! Can’t wait for everyone to see them all.— Danielle Fishel (@daniellefishel) January 22, 2014
By ordering 8 additional episodes, Disney tipped its hand as to their confidence in the series. Still, Disney’s confidence is likely in the show’s ability to reach the younger audiences – which was always the plan – and not fans of the original series. So while it may be great that Girl Meets World is being picked up for more episodes, Boy Meets World fans still have yet to see what the series has to offer them, as far as entertainment goes.
No matter what, Girl Meets World is going to be met with frustration by longtime fans of Cory and Topanga, and 21 episodes is likely too long of a run to string together a through-story which will appease former fans, as well entice newer fans, to continue to watch. As always, the answer will be revealed in the pilot.
Both Girl Meets World and Degrassi: The Next Generation were created from established – not to mention beloved – franchises, and Degrassi: The Next Generation was able to win-over former fans by setting the pilot episode around a reunion of the former cast. After Degrassi’s premiere, they continued to involve former cast members well into its (now many) subsequent seasons, and then the former cast members, along with much of the original Degrassi: The Next Generation cast, were slowly phased out.
Though what happened to Degrassi: The Next Generation may sound like a bad thing, overall, they continued to provide interesting stories for new and old fans to enjoy, together, and it was ultimately able to accomplish what many series never get a chance to: cycling out its audience.
Now that Degrassi: The Next Generation has been on the air for 13 years, fans of the original series were able to decide when to walk away from watching it and, since expectations were already met (even exceeded), there were was no ill-will and the franchise still remains a favorite to many.
Will Girl Meets World be able to do the same thing with Cory, Topanga, Louis (August Maturo), Riley (Rowan Blanchard) and Maya (Sabrina Carpenter)? Only time will tell, but Boy Meets World fans better prepare themselves to see a series that the Disney Channel deems worthy to air on their children’s network.
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Girl Meets World will premiere summer/fall 2014 on the Disney Channel.
