The Disney Channel is premiering a heavily buzzed-about new TV series this year - one which brings with it a hefty dose of 1990s nostalgia, no less. That program in question is Girl Meets World, a sequel series to Boy Meets World: the popular American sitcom that aired as part of ABC's TGIF lineup for seven seasons, following its protagonist Cory Matthews from his time as a boy about to start middle-school on through to his years as a young (and married) fellow in college.

In Girl Meets World, Cory (still played by Ben Savage) remains married to Topanga (Danielle Fishel), and the pair are now living in New York and raising a family; the next generation of Matthews includes Cory and Topanga's daughter Riley (Rowan Blanchard), in addition to Riley's younger brother Auggie (August Maturo). True to its name, this new show will be told from Riley's perspective, as she begins the 7th grade and continues learning to navigate the tricky waters of life on her way towards becoming an adult.

No surprise, though, Girl Meets World will get its start by pulling down hard on the nostalgia chains of the many Boy Meets World fans out there, on its own journey towards establishing a proper identity for itself. That means numerous guest-starring appearances from familiar faces in the first 21-episode season of Girl Meets World, with the likes of Mr. Feeny (William Daniels), Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong) and even former '90s-era geek Minkus (Lee Norris) already slated to make appearances in the foreseeable future.

The first Girl Meets World teaser trailer (see above, via E! Online), as you might expect, acknowledges that fact in a meta-fashion, offering a glimpse at Cory and Topanga as parents, in addition to introducing Blanchard as Riley and Sabrina Carpenter as Riley's best friend, Maya Hart. Below, we have a picture of the show's main cast, which includes Corey Fogelmanis as Shamus Farkle and Peyton Mayer as Lucas Friar - two of Riley and Maya's peers, who will no doubt serve as cogs in the series' week-by-week storylines.

Girl Meets World - Cast

Girl Meets World creator Michael Jacobs, who also co-created Boy Meets World with April Kelly, has engineered this new series to feel only somewhat like an organic continuation of its predecessor; fans of the latter show might find themselves perplexed by some of the creative choices, such as having Topanga running a hangout spot "that specializes in pudding." (And the show may not explain how she got there, either.)

Jacobs seems to be aware that the nostalgia draw factor will only help to get Girl Meets World off the launch pad; once that wears off, the TV show needs to be fully up in the air and capable of winning over the families who are interested in watching a new modern Disney Channel series of this ilk. It's a very different game now on TV, from the time when Boy Meets World was airing.

Then again, not a whole lot of people expected Degrassi: The Next Generation to take off like it did, so who knows - maybe one day we'll get to see Riley head off to college, just like we got to watch her parents do over a decade ago.

__________________________________________________

Girl Meets World will premiere on the Disney Channel in Summer 2014.

Source: E! Online