Boy Meets World

Boy Meets World aired on ABC from 1993 through 2000 and was created and produced by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly. It joined the network’s TGIF lineup of Family Matters, Step by Step, and Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper. Over seven seasons, viewers followed Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) and his family and classmates as they grew up and learned hard life lessons. A central theme was the relationship Cory shared with his girlfriend Topanga (Danielle Fishel) and his best friend Shawn (Rider Strong). The series had 158 total episodes, which documented Cory’s maturation from a sixth-grade student through college. Along the way, his character and choices were guided by his teacher and mentor Mr. Feeny, whose tough-love approach gave the show its moral heart. 

Future stars like Jennifer Love Hewitt, Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation), Linda Cardellini (Freaks and Geeks), and Brittany Murphy (Clueless) all had big parts throughout the show’s history. At the end of the series, Jacobs and the network were in a standoff over whether Topanga and Cory should get married. At just 20 years old, ABC felt they were still too young, so they ran an online poll. The results indicated that viewers wanted to see the couple end up together, and they did marry halfway through the final season. 

In 2018, the cast reunited at New York Comic-Con, where Savage described what it was like to film the series finale scene. “When Mr. Feeny said, ‘class dismissed,’ which still gets me, and then we wrapped, this huge wave of emotion went over me,” Savage said. “Like, ‘wait, wait no! One more take!’ I’ll always remember that moment. It was like someone was closing the door on our childhood — but in a good way! It definitely left an impact.”

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