Matthew Lawrence remembers making something special with his Boy Meets World castmates. Their reunion on Girl Meets World left him uneasy.
“It was very weird,” the actor said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly published Oct. 6, recalling the atmosphere on the Disney Channel sequel.
Lawrence played Jack Hunter during the final three seasons of Boy Meets World. His character was Shawn Hunter’s half-brother and Eric Matthews’ roommate.
He returned in the 2015 season 2 episode “Girl Meets Semi-Formal,” reuniting with Will Friedle as Eric. Friedle also wrote the episode.
Lawrence Noticed Tension Among the Adults
The sequel centered on Riley Matthews, played by Rowan Blanchard, and her best friend Maya Hart, played by Sabrina Carpenter. Lawrence said he had no objection to the younger characters becoming the focus and thought “the kids were doing fine.”
He described “some dysfunction” in the “adult half of the show,” which he said left him feeling sad. “I did one [episode] and then probably wouldn’t have done more,” he said.
Lawrence did not identify the people involved or describe a specific dispute. “I love them all, and I know they’ve all worked it out at this point,” he said, adding that he saw no reason to revisit the details.
Friedle and Strong Have Their Own Recollections of the Sequel
On the July 28 episode of We’re Still Here, Babe, Friedle and Rider Strong recalled learning that Girl Meets World was happening through news reports. Strong said he began receiving congratulatory messages before he knew what people were referring to.
Friedle said he negotiated an arrangement to act in three episodes in exchange for writing one. Strong said he agreed to return as Shawn so he could direct, eventually directing 18 episodes.
Alongside Danielle Fishel, the two actors began their Girl Meets World episode rewatch on Pod Meets World on Aug. 20. Their first recap questioned whether Maya should have been the lead and whether Cory Matthews belonged in his daughter’s classroom as her teacher.
On the Aug. 27 episode, Fishel and Friedle recalled separately urging co-creator Michael Jacobs to hire women to write for the female-led series. Fishel said he rejected her suggestion. In its Aug. 28 report, EW said Jacobs’ representative had not responded to a request for comment.
The Lawrence Brothers Have Turned Themselves Into Fictional Detectives
Lawrence was discussing his new graphic novel, The Lawrence Brothers Detective Agency, when he spoke to EW. The book casts him and brothers Joey and Andrew as fictional investigators searching for missing stars of the ’90s.
The brothers had been developing the idea for roughly 15 years. Publisher Z2 Comics describes a mystery involving a Hollywood conspiracy and cameos from former child stars.
The story is credited to Joey, Matthew and Andrew Lawrence with Brian Yuran, with a script by the Berkowitz Brothers and illustrations by Sean Von Gorman and Dario Formisani. The hardcover was published Sept. 29.