iCarly reference in new Mean Girls movie brought Tina Fey 'the most joy'

As you might expect, the new Mean Girls musical movie is full of callbacks to the original 2004 film. But that's not its only point of reference to millennial teen culture. Right before a recreation of the Plastics' iconic Santa dance, Damian Hubbard (Jaquel Spivey) performs a dramatic ballad in French. In case the language difference confuses the reference, Principal Duvall (Tim Meadows) grabs the microphone to explain.

“That was Damian Hubbard singing the iCarly theme song in French for extra credit,” the principal says.

iCarly, which starred Miranda Cosgrove and Jennette McCurdy as teenagers who begin a successful web show, premiered on Nickelodeon in September 2007, several years after the original Mean Girls. So Tina Fey, who wrote the screenplays for both Mean Girls films, is delighted that they were able to reference the beloved Nick show in the new one.

“Oh, my gosh, that iCarly thing,” Fey said in a new interview with USA Today. “The fact that made it in, and that (the movie) committed to it so hard. That probably brings me the most joy of all the new things."

Another difference between the two Mean Girls movies is that Fey's Ms. Norbury (the math teacher she portrays in both iterations) is now married to Principal Duvall. In a recent interview with EW, Fey explained why they made the change.

"That joke is 90 percent just to amuse my old 30 Rock writing partner, Robert Carlock," Fey tells EW. "After the first movie came out, he used to tease us both, 'Your characters really are in love.' So that joke is mostly for him."

Does that mean the new Mean Girls takes place in the same continuity as the original? Fey says that's for you to decide.

Mean Girls is in theaters now. 

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