'Boy Meets World' Sequel Casts Its Version of Shawn (and Is Looking for Its Eric, Topanga and Minkus)

Girl Meets World, the sequel series to Boy Meets World, has kicked its casting machine into high gear, bringing Sabrina Carpenter on to play Maya Fox, the rebellious friend of Riley Matthews. We learned last week that Rowan Blanchard would be playing Riley, the daughter of Cory and Topanga.

I was going to refer to Maya as the female version of Shawn, but since Shawn dressed up in drag for his Chick Like Me newspaper article, I guess the female version of Shawn is Shawn. That aside, if we're applying the Boy Meets World template to Girl Meets World, Maya is to Riley what Shawn was to Cory. Entertainment Weekly also reported that the show is looking to fill three more Girl Meets World roles. We'll refer to these characters as New Eric, Boy Topanga and New Minkus. Check out their descriptions after the jump.

Before we get to that, though, I wanted to echo a concern that I've seen brought up here and there on the Internet since the Blanchard casting was announced. The Disney Channel has become well known for shows about kids who want to be famous. That's the general storyline of Hannah Montana and pretty much any other series they have going on. They don't deal with shows about regular kids just trying to get through regular lives.

Boy Meets World is arguably the TGIF show that's held in the highest regard by the generation that grew up with it. The reason for that? Because we saw ourselves in the characters in that show.

Boy Meets World was a show about regular kids just trying to get through regular lives. Cory and Topanga didn't live secret double lives as pop stars. Eric was on an episode of MTV's Singled Out once, but he wasn't discovered and he didn't become a billionaire. They had simple parents who worked hard to provide for their kids. Shawn came from a broken home.

Blanchard and Carpenter have talent as singers, with Carpenter even already having a record deal. If the Disney Channel wants to make Girl Meets World a show that matters as much as Boy Meets World did, they won't cave to the commercial pressure to make Riley and her friends pop stars. Their friendships and families will be what matters to them. Kids watching Girl Meets World need to know that there are more important things in life than just wanting to be famous.

OK, now onto those character descriptions from EW:

New Eric:

Elliott Matthews, 13. Cory and Topanga’s son. This guy will start the series as a “thinking man’s jock.” He’s described as “good looking, well built, funny and insightful in his observations. Good hearted except for his dedication toward using Riley (Blanchard) as his wrestling practice dummy. His parents worry that he has inherited the ‘Eric Matthews Algernon’ gene and will lose intelligence as time goes by.” That “Eric Matthews Algernon” bit is a two-part reference to a character in the original series who got dumber as seasons passed and the classic novel with a similar theme, Flowers for Algernon.

The phrase "'Eric Matthews Algernon' gene" made me laugh. If Cory and Topanga are referencing Flowers for Algernon, it looks like Mr. Feeny managed to teach them something.

Boy Topanga:

Tristan Friar, 12-13. An Austin, Texas transplant who’s a “cowboy in the city.” His description: “He seems actually possessed of ethics, common sense and a value system making him immediately alien to everybody else except Riley, who believes it’s the value system that attracts her to want to be his friend even though he’s too good looking for her to look at.”

There were entire episodes of Boy Meets World that focused on Cory bemoaning the fact that he wasn't attractive enough to date Topanga. Looks like Riley will pick up that trait from her dad.

New Minkus:

Shamus Farkle, 12-13: This is the show’s resident genius. “Future world ruler. Riley’s rebellious best friend Maya is his nemesis, Riley gets between them to save his life. Farkle is wildly attached and protective of both girls and loves equally that Riley doesn’t make him miserable and Maya does.”

Shamus. Minkus. Hopefully Shamus is smart enough to make sure he doesn't hang out off camera for most of the series.