For seven years, “Boy Meets World” served as an electronic babysitter for millions of kids growing up in the 1990s.
Fans had no social media to analyze the budding teen romance between Topanga Lawrence and Cory Matthews while the sitcom aired on ABC. Since 2022, cast members Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong, and Will Friedle have done that work for them on their rewatch podcast “Pod Meets World.” They break down every episode, quiz dozens of guest stars and dig up backstage anecdotes.
From recurring cast member Adam Scott recalling an awkward moment on set to the show’s hairstylist dishing on Topanga’s trendsetting Season 4 haircut, the 30-year-old secrets revealed on “Pod Meets World” have become steady fodder for celebrity news websites.
The podcast is popular enough that the cast has taken it on the road. Those live shows are captured in a new documentary, “Doc Meets World” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June. The film is a testament to the cultural clout of rewatch podcasts, where cast members and creators offer revelations about their shows and about themselves.
Streaming services such as Hulu, HBO Max and Netflix have fueled the appetite for these podcasts by introducing classic shows to new audiences. For many fans, binge-watching is no longer enough. That includes younger viewers who weren’t alive for a series’ original run and longtime fans who want to immerse themselves in old favorites all over again.
The genre has become a staple of the podcast industry, which took in $9.2 billion in global revenue last year, according to media consulting firm Owl & Co. Some podcasts such as “Pod Meets World” and “Office Ladies,” featuring Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey of “The Office,” are popular enough to remain in production even after their hosts have gone through an entire library of episodes. (The hosts of both podcasts once did a crossover episode.)
Audio company iHeartMedia distributes more than 10 rewatch podcasts, including “Pod Meets World, “Drama Queens,” hosted by Sophia Bush and other stars of the CW drama “One Tree Hill” and “A Different World View” with Darryl M. Bell and Kadeem Hardison, an inside look at the groundbreaking sitcom “A Different World,” which brought life at historically Black colleges and universities to tens of millions of prime-time viewers from 1987 to 1993.
Will Pearson, president of iHeartPodcasts, said the company’s “Fake Doctors, Real Friends with Zach and Donald,” in which “Scrubs” stars Zach Braff and Donald Faison plowed through the eight seasons of their hit sitcom, has had more than 100 million downloads since its launch in 2020.
The hosts enjoyed the experience enough to sign on for a “Scrubs” reboot, currently streaming on Hulu and airing on ABC. “There was so much talk about how fun this was and having former cast members come on, that they started saying ‘maybe we should bring this show back?’” Pearson said.
Pearson believes the rewatch discussions resonate with listeners because the shows of the 1990s and early 2000s thrived when the viewers had the shared experience of watching a show at the same time. Audiences were larger, and big hits delivered more than 20 episodes a season for years.
“For the original viewing audience that watched it the first time it was on TV, the rewatch podcast is something that transports them back to that time when a show ran once a week, and it was very different than the binge world we live in now,” Pearson said. “So when you have a show that somebody watched over a 10-year period, it really was there with them over a transformative period of their lives.”
For younger viewers, the rewatch podcast simulates the old-school water cooler experience of talking about a show the day after it first aired. Once an episode drops, fans post their thoughts in Reddit groups and on other social media platforms. Marcus Levy, an agent for William Morris Endeavor who books the “Pod Meets World” tour, said taking the podcasts out on the road for live events helps fans form a community around their passion for a show.
“It’s amazing when the audience, whether it’s during a Q and A or during a interactive part of the show, gets a chance to express what these shows have meant to them,” Levy said. “And I’ve been there at these live shows where people will say, ‘I went through a really hard time and watching your show is what got me through that hard time.’ I don’t think it really ever gets old for these podcast hosts to hear that.”
The freewheeling discussions on rewatch podcasts also align with how younger consumers prefer to see their favorite celebrities presented — authentic, unvarnished and free of the restraint of public relations handlers.
“There’s such an emotional connection to ‘Beverly Hills 90210’ for so many people, and the podcast lets us have a conversation with them about it in a way we never could when the show was actually airing,” said Jennie Garth, who hosts the rewatch podcast of the long-running Fox series she starred in from 1990 to 2000.
Garth, who launched the podcast with former castmate Tori Spelling in 2020, is gratified that fans are still passionate about the many relationships in the series, which was the first teen-oriented soap in prime time. “The Brandon-versus-Dylan debate still feels so prevalent today,” said Garth, referring to the rivalry between the hunky male leads played by Jason Priestley and Luke Perry.
Garth said she did not watch the show while she was working on it. Plowing through the 292 episodes, which are currently shown on Paramount + and other platforms, has led to many revelations.
“I completely forgot how often the same actors came back playing totally different characters,” she said. “You notice the repetitive story lines much more when you’re watching the episodes back to back. Those are the things that make doing the podcast so fun. I am rediscovering the show right along with everyone else.”
Hardison and Bell had wanted to do a rewatch podcast for years, having heard from fans about the influence of the massively popular “A Different World,” which has been linked to a rise in HBCU enrollment in the 1990s. Repeats of the series have been a staple of broadcast, cable and, more recently, Netflix, which streams the original series and a reboot that launched in September. In 2024, cast members toured HBCU campuses to raise awareness and scholarship funds.
Bell and Hardison say their podcast will get into the cultural influence of “A Different World,” whose alumni include original cast member Marisa Tomei and guest star Halle Berry, both of whom went on to win Oscars. The series had a rocky start on NBC and evolved from a light spinoff of “The Cosby Show,” into a more topical series that tackled issues such as racism, censorship and political discourse once Debbie Allen took over as executive producer.
“By Season 2, Debbie, a Howard University alum, said, ‘we are going to be specific to historically black colleges and universities. And that is a unique experience, and we’re going to talk about all of the things that are important on those campuses,’” Bell said.
Bell and Hardison said they are also eager to share stories about the show’s array of guest stars. When Lena Horne appeared on the show, big stars such as Jerry Seinfeld, Roseanne Barr, Burt Reynolds and Ossie Davis, all of whom worked on the same Radford lot at the time, rushed to the “A Different World” soundstage when they heard the legendary jazz singer was there.
Bell and Hardison have been close pals since they first met on the set of Spike Lee’s film “School Daze,” and such real life connections between cast members is a draw for podcast fans.
“A real genuine friendship and respect is a winning combination,” said Kate Rose, senior vice president of podcast revenue partnerships for Audacy, which distributes “Office Ladies” and “How I Made Your Mother” hosted by “How I Met Your Mother” star Josh Radnor and the show’s co-creator, executive producer and writer Craig Thomas. Rose noted that Fischer and Kinsey developed a deep friendship while working on “The Office,” which helps make “Office Ladies” a soothing hangout for fans.
“People listened to the same episode of the podcast numerous times because it’s a comfort listen,” Rose said.
“Office Ladies” inspired actor-musicians Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein to launch their own iHeart podcast revisiting their sketch comedy series “Portlandia,” which spoofed the hipster scene in the Pacific Northwest. Once the episodes, which originally aired on IFC from 2011 to 2018, started running on Netflix, the pair noticed more fans coming up to compliment the show. Some showed off their “Portlandia” tattoos or photos of themselves dressed for Halloween as Toni and Candace, the feminist bookstore characters they played on the series.
Armisen and Brownstein, who have collaborated together for more than 20 years, bring the same relaxed vibe of their series to the podcast, which launched last year.
“The podcast seemed like a good way to revisit something,” said Armisen. “Carrie and I don’t need any excuse to hang out and talk.”
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