Growing up, many of us sat in front of our parents’ TVs watching shows where we wished to become those main characters. We wanted to live out our pop star dreams, like “Hannah Montana,” or have our own video blog, like “iCarly.” We would dress and act like these characters day to day, making them an integral part of our entire personality.

We will always remember these characters for practically raising us to become who we are today. Our personalities and future careers may even reflect on these characters we once wished to become.

Many of these shows are being brought back to life, reboots of these characters we once loved so much as kids. They are now adults, and there is so much nostalgia in seeing them return to our TVs. Watching them is like catching up with an old friend where nothing feels like it has changed, but physically so much has.

“iCarly” had a reboot that premiered in 2021 on Paramount+, which followed Carly, Spencer, and Freddie as adult navigating their everyday lives. Still giving off its sitcom feel, the show followed its audience, making it more adult-themed, which felt authentic to its original audience from all those years before.

It was so special to see the lives of the characters from a show that I grew up watching, and while the show may be cancelled, it brought back so many memories when watching the reboot, with many nods to the original.

Back when the show originally ended, I watched the last episode on my grandparents’ couch live, and I remember being devastated that it was over; getting to have that full circle moment of watching the first episode of the reboot when it aired was nostalgic and offered so much comfort and memories from my childhood.

“iCarly” isn’t the only reboot of Gen Z, and millennials are talking about the just-announced “Hannah Montana” 20th anniversary special, which is set to appear on March 24th on Disney+ with special host Alex Cooper, who is currently the creator and host of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast. Unlike the “iCarly” reboot, the special will be set in front of a live audience, much like how “Hannah Montana” was originally shot, and will share special, unseen moments from the show.

I know it won’t be us now watching the special, but the younger versions of ourselves who wanted to live the best of both worlds, just like “Hannah Montana” did. Many fans are bringing back the nostalgia of the show by dressing up as her today, using their old 2000’s wardrobe, and posting pictures of themselves as kids who were obsessed with the show.

There is so much comfort in rewatching a show you’ve seen millions of times, but to grow up rewatching that show over and over again in different stages of your life makes it even more special.

Another show that got its second shot on the big screen is “Zoey 101,” which was renamed “Zoey 102,” a fan favorite Nickelodeon show following Zoey as an adult in her 20s.

I believe that another reason many of us turn back to these shows we grew up with, and their reboots, is that many of us are struggling with navigating our lives in our 20s, and so to watch our beloved characters try to do the same within their reboot is reassuring.

We don’t watch reboots because we need new stories to be told. We watch them because we want to remember who we were before adulthood got complicated.

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