‘Boy Meets World’ Star Will Friedle Reveals Why He Initially Turned Down Spinoff

Boy Meets World star Will Friedle recently opened up about why he joined the spinoff Girl Meets World after first turning down the opportunity.

On June 6, the actor who played Eric Matthews — the older brother of Cory Matthew (Ben Savage) on the beloved ’90s sitcom — dished on nearly passing on the reboot series, which premiered in 2014. Friedle explained that initially, Boy Meets World co-creator, producer, and showrunner Michael Jacobs told him he couldn’t write for Girl Meets World.

“We made a deal. If I came back on camera and did three episodes, then I could write it,” Freidle told Us Weekly on the red carpet for the Doc Meets World premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. “So, we did a little, a little trading.”

He explained, “I wasn’t going to do it, and not only because of the acting [and my anxiety] but I found out about GMW when, like, CNN called and asked for a comment. And [Jacobs] said you can do whatever on the show, and I said, ‘I want to be a writer,’ and he was like, ‘You can’t do that.’”

Ultimately, Friedle did write for the spinoff — in Season 2, Episode 13, titled “Girl Meets Semi-Formal,” per IMDb. He also appeared onscreen as Eric in four episodes.

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Boy Meets World aired for seven seasons from 1993 to 2000. In 2014, the spinoff Girl Meets World premiered, and it aired for three seasons before ending in 2017. The series starred Rowan Blanchard as Topanga and Cory’s daughter, Riley Matthews, August Maturo as their son, Auggie Matthews, and Sabrina Carpenter as Rowan’s friend, Maya Hart, among others.

Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World, streaming on Disney+