Girl Meets World Producer Says Creator Was “Horrible” to Sabrina Carpenter and Rowan Blanchard at Table Read, Making Them Cry

A new documentary about Boy Meets World, titled Doc Meets World, premiered at the Tribeca Festival and revealed fresh details about the early days of the spinoff Girl Meets World, including an emotional and difficult table read involving the young cast.

During the film, producer Frank Pace described creator Michael Jacobs as a demanding presence on set. Speaking with Danielle Fishel, who played Topanga in the original series and returned for the spinoff, Pace said Jacobs was both enjoyable and extremely difficult to work with. He said the table read for Girl Meets World was especially memorable for the wrong reasons, claiming Jacobs harshly criticized the young actors for not living up to the legacy of Boy Meets World. According to Pace, Rowan Blanchard and Sabrina Carpenter were left in tears during the session.

Fishel said she had blocked out the incident, but later reflected on the experience and the values she wanted the new series to promote. She explained that she did not want a show centered on a young girl to focus mainly on romance. Fishel said that as a girl growing up, she had already spent much of her life thinking about relationships and felt that message had not been helpful to her. She became emotional while saying she believed the series should emphasize something more meaningful, particularly female friendship and personal growth.

Girl Meets World, which aired on Disney Channel from 2014 to 2017, followed the lives of Rowan Blanchard and Sabrina Carpenter nearly 14 years after the original series ended. The spinoff reunited familiar characters while introducing a new generation of viewers to the world of Cory and Topanga.

The documentary also explores Fishel’s personal connection to Boy Meets World and why she eventually felt burnt out by the demands of the show. She discussed stepping away from acting after the original series ended, offering a more personal look at the toll that long-term child stardom can take.

The revelations add a behind-the-scenes layer to the legacy of the beloved sitcom, highlighting both the pressure of revisiting a successful franchise and the emotional challenges faced by its cast as they tried to build something new for a younger audience.