Girl Meets World arrived on the Disney Channel in the summer of 2014 as something of a curiosity. As a sequel to the popular 1990s TGIF series Boy Meets World, the show told the story of original couple Cory and Topanga (Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel) as grown parents of two children, including teenaged protagonist Riley (Rowan Blanchard). The key relationship on the show is between Riley and her lifelong best friend Maya (Sabrina Carpenter), who are one of the more nuanced, multifaceted depictions of young female friendship ever shown on television.

The series, over the course of three seasons and 69 episodes, has been a consistent delight, toggling easily between comedy and drama, and even occasionally dealing with weighty subjects, while keeping alive the legacy of its predecessor. And now, as was hinted in recent weeks, Girl Meets World is coming to an end.

The Disney Channel has officially cancelled Girl Meets World, as announced by the official Twitter account maintained by the show’s writing staff. Take a look at their tweet:

Referencing the show’s three seasons, the account went on to tweet: “We leave you with three incredible souvenirs of a show we couldn’t be more proud of. As I look back I can tell you with absolute certainty – We gave you our best.” Rider Strong, an actor on both the old and new shows who has also done some directing, had hinted last month in a podcast interview the series was ending with its third season. 

It’s sad to see Girl Meets World go. Not only was it a faithful continuation of its source material, complete with regular guest appearances from the Boy Meets World characters, but it found two outstanding actresses in Blanchard and Carpenter, who were worked well together and clearly have great things in their futures, continuing with the long tradition of Disney Channel stars going on to stardom as adults.

Even the most popular Disney Channel shows tend not to last so long - Hannah Montana ran only four years, and Lizzie McGuire only two. But Girl Meets World - similarly established as a sequel series like Netflix's Fuller House, though arguably more capable of rising above appealing simply to fan nostalgia - emerged as a quality entity in its own right, one likely to carve out its own substantial legacy. At the very least, fans of Girl Meets World still have a handful of episodes to look forward to when the show returns this month.

Girl Meets World returns to Disney Channel with 'World Meets Girl' on January 6, 2017 at 6pm.

Source: Twitter