Ariana Grande Bids Goodbye To Sam & Cat As Speculation Soars On Show’s End
Nickelodeon announced today that the hit show with Ariana Grande and and Jennette McCurdy, ‘Sam & Cat,’ would finish its first season, and then would be no more. Fans may be disappointed, but it seems there are a number of reasons that the show had to come to an end.
TV Line is crediting Ariana Grande and her growing pop career with the show’s end, noting that Grande was so busy that the whole first season of the show didn’t even get filmed — while the contract was for 40 episodes, only 36 were completed, and it’s even suggested that’s due to Ariana’s schedule.
Hollywood Life, meanwhile, speculates that the cause may be poor chemistry between Grande and McCurdy. There are rumors that Ariana and Jennette just couldn’t get along behind the scenes, and that McCurdy had complaints about Grande getting a bigger paycheck. Grande has denied that and called it a ridiculous rumor.
As far as the rivalry rumors go, there was also speculation that an internet post by Jennette McCurdy in June was about Ariana. The twitlonger post didn’t name Ariana, but talked about fake friends, and about dumping a friend who is selfish and manipulative:
As for what happened to our friendship, it faded once through happenstance and it is happening this time through my stance. I’m standing up for myself. I’m not playing your games, letting you manipulate me, and succumbing to your twisted perception of reality
Despite denials from Ariana, Deadline points out that McCurdy unfollowed Grande’s social media accounts, and publicly accused Nickelodeon of unfair treatment, back in March.
Then, of course, there are McCurdy’s leaked racy photos, which may have created some concerns when attached to a star of a kids’ show, even though the actress is an adult herself.
This evening, Ariana tweeted a long farewell to her character, Cat, to the cast and crew of the show, and to the fans, spilling her heart about her feelings about Cat and the show, but Ariana left out any specific mention of, or farewell for, co-star Jennette. Saying she hid behind the character, Ariana explains:
What I mean by that is when I was younger, people loved Cat so much I used to pretend to be more like her. It took me a long time to be brave enough to separate myself and show people how different we actually are…. I think that’s honestly because I admire her so much. Her appreciation for life and everybody she encounters. Her passion and genuine excitement for the little things that most people dread like school projects and work. She always saw negative obstacles as opportunities to make things good
The last episode of Sam & Cat will air on July 17th. Ariana Grande will be focusing on her music career, and Jennette McCurdy is currently working on the movie Almost Heroes 3D, in which she is the voice of Sue.
[Photo: Instagram]
