I Carly, Season 3. REVIEW

The series beautifully crafts a moment nearly 16 years in the making.

A new season dropped regarless of the fact that the show got cancelled. iCarly, Paramount's relaunch of the iconic Nickelodeon sitcom, has reintroduced us to Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove) and Freddie Benson (Nathan Kress) as they plan to revive their beloved web show – minus Sam (Jennette McCurdy). The adventures continue with Carly's crazy brother Spencer (Jerry Trainor), her new BFF Harper (Laci Mosley), and Freddie's step-daughter Millicent (Jaidyn Triplett), with some refreshing tweaks to keep the show's initial run tuned in with topical stories and fun.

The new iCarly appears to be the ultimate result of a process in which demographics-obsessed writers take network remarks and strive to develop a sitcom that crams tween frivolity and gags about "adulting" into a blender. The end product is a somewhat lumpy sitcom smoothie that veers from dopey slapstick (a lengthy visual gag involving aerial silking) to thrown-off social satire (a quip about Spencer being the reality show's standard "unqualified white male host") with a smidgeon of discomfort.

To quantify its material, I'd guess the adult-to-tween humor ratio is around 48/52 - the emphasis here is on lightly immature unspoken/unrequited/confused love feelings rather than, say, Carly's potentially problematic work position. Cosgrove's act is broad and humorous at heart, but it also appears to be founded in a hidden worry caused by the uncertainties of her romantic and professional situations. But that's about where it stops, because this is a sitcom, albeit a beautiful one aimed for a large audience. It won't be about the arduous work of working through Carly's troubles, but rather about the low-hanging-fruit comedy that emerges from the situation, ranging from light parody of trashy reality TV to one-liners.

It doesn't always work, but Cosgrove - who, after all these years, has a natural chemistry with Kress - keeps the series' appeal for a large enough loyal fanbase, which should keep iCarly 2.0 going for a long.