On 'Zoey 101' star Jamie Lynn Spears' birthday, fans wonder if her teenage pregnancy ruined the show
It's Jamie Lynn Spears' birthday and what better way to celebrate than by remembering 'Zoey 101', the 2000s Nickelodeon show that garnered many fans before it abruptly ended in 2008. Many even speculated that the show ended because of Spears' pregnancy at just 16-years-old.
The younger sister of Britney Spears, Jamie Lynn rose to stardom through her titular role in 'Zoey 101' which also starred Paul Butcher, Sean Flynn, Christopher Massey, Austin Butler, and Victoria Justice. First premiering in 2005, the show ran until 2008.
Fans remembered the show fondly as Jamie Lynn turned 29 years old. One fan tweeted, "Thinking about Michael from Zoey 101 would say drippin’ hoping the phrase would catch on and all of his friends made fun of him for it. look at you now Michael."
Another wrote, "I heard the Zoey 101 theme song for the first time in like a decade and now I'm sobbing." Another tweeted, "Zoey 101 had a love story for the ages you know Chase and Zoey just hit different."
Fans even debated which was a better show, 'iCarly' or 'Zoey 101'. A fan tweeted, "If you didn’t spend your childhood wanting a JetX scooter, a TeckMate, a key necklace, and to go to PCA, you didn’t have a good childhood. PERIOD. Zoey 101 is superior." A fan wrote, "Girl what debate?? Zoey 101 was miles better, a cultural reset in a way icarly never was but they were both excellent end of discussion."
Both 'iCarly' and 'Zoey 101' were created by Dan Schneider, who also created 'What I Like About You', 'The Amanda Show' (both starring Amanda Bynes), 'Drake & Josh' (starring Josh Peck), and 'Victorious' (starring Ariana Grande).
However, old wounds were reopened when fans wondered whether it was Spears' untimely pregnancy that led to the end of 'Zoey 101'. In December 2007, at the age of 16, Spears announced that she was pregnant by her then-boyfriend, Casey Aldridge.
However, Spears had clarified last year that it wasn't her pregnancy that ended the show and that she would not have renewed her contract even if she wasn't. In a now-deleted Instagram post, Spears celebrated the 14-year anniversary of 'Zoey 101' and captioned the post, “14 years later...still a jam. #itdidNOTendbecauseofpregnancy #contractwasfinished.”
However, some fans still remain unconvinced. One fan wrote, "Jamie Lynn Spears' daughter is definitely old enough to know a whole generation of people hated her for ruining Zoey 101." Another fan responded, "The show was already over Chase and Zoe ended up together what more did you want from it... it ran 4 season which for that series was a good enough run." One fan replied, "Y'all the show was already going to end can y'all stop blaming a child for something she had no control over."
A fan tweeted, "It’s actually chase’s fault that it ended. apparently he decided to pursue an education over the show and if that hadn’t happened we could’ve had a season full of chase and Zoey's relationship unfold." Chase was played by Sean Flynn.
One thing remains certain, however, and it is that fans are still big fans of 'Zoey 101'. One fan took to Twitter to ask Netflix to acquire rights to the show for its platform. A fan tweeted, "I demand that Zoey 101 be put on Netflix for this quarantine @netflix."
One fan wrote, "Netflix needs to stop clowning around and add zoey101," while another said, "If Zoey 101 comes on Netflix.. yeah that’s finna be a banger tbh I’m binge-watching all those damn seasons."