‘Boy Meets World’ cast reveals salaries, show firings and Ben Savage rift

Erin Jensen, USA TODAYTue, November 10, 2026 at 11:01 AM UTC

0

Readers, meet the real “World.”

Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle, known by those raised by ABC’s TGIF as Shawn Hunter, Topanga Lawrence and Eric Matthews, reveal their experiences on the series in “Book Meets World: The Definitive Inside Story of the Hit Sitcom ‘Boy Meets World,’” available now. The actors first served viewers the behind-the-scenes tea on their rewatch podcast launched in 2022, “Pod Meets World.”

For seven seasons, Strong, 46, played best friend to the central character Cory Matthews (Ben Savage), Fishel, 45, portrayed Cory’s longtime love and Friedle, 50, found laughs as Cory’s handsome and outrageous older brother. William Daniels, 99, imparted wisdom as their beloved and sage teacher, Mr. George Feeny.

While wandering down the road called show business, the cast hit some bumps.

Friedle says at 16, series co-creator Michael Jacobs noticed he’d gotten heavier. Friedle says Jacobs advised, “You’ve got to watch that.” The conversation about weight came up again ahead of shooting “She's Having My Baby Back Ribs” in Season 7, in which Eric and Topanga attempt to shed some pounds. Fishel says Jacobs informed her, “‘Obviously, you [and Friedle] have gained a little bit of weight, so we’re going to write an episode about it, and we just wanted you to know.’”

Fishel says, at the time, she was a size 4, and her 5' 1'' frame weighed 115 pounds.

As the authors note, Jacobs and Savage “did not respond to multiple requests to participate in this book.” USA TODAY reached out to a rep for Savage for comment but was unsuccessful in finding a representative for Jacobs.

Here are some of the biggest revelations in “Book Meets World.”

Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel haven’t spoken in years

In recent years, Savage, 46, has distanced himself from his former costars.

According to the book, Savage attended Fishel’s nuptials to husband Jensen Karp in 2018 “and was really there for her when her first son [Adler Lawrence Karp, 7] was born.” But the two “have since drifted apart and have not spoken in over five years.”

When the “Pod Meets World” hosts asked Savage to participate “he supported them doing it, he didn’t feel it was for him.”

Savage last acted in 2022’s Lifetime TV movie “Girl in the Shed: The Kidnapping of Abby Hernandez.” Following an unsuccessful Congressional bid to represent California in 2024, he welcomed his first child with wife Tessa Angermeier in 2025.

The actors first cast to play Topanga, Eric and Alan Matthews

Originally, the Matthews brood differed from what eventually appeared on screens. The role of Eric first went to Harry Barandes, but per the book, “The studio wasn’t happy and wanted someone who felt more believable as Savage’s brother.” Enter Friedle.

Advertisement

Similarly, Matt McCoy didn’t fit as Cory and Eric’s dad, Alan, apparently lacking chemistry with Betsy Randle, who played Matthews’ matriarch Amy. William Russ previously turned the part down but reconsidered when the show was picked up.

Though Fishel auditioned, the role of Topanga originally went to Bonnie Morgan. Fishel admits at the time she “had zero idea what acting was.” Fishel landed the part following Morgan’s firing, but she still had a turbulent time finding her acting groove. Fishel says Jacobs once singled her out for notes after a run-through explaining in front of the cast and crew, “if I made everyone sit here through all of the notes I have for you, we would all be here for hours and no one would ever get to go home.”

Fishel says she was told, “‘If you don’t come back tomorrow doing this entirely differently, you are also not going to be here,’ referencing the girl I replaced.”

The highest-paid ‘Boy Meets World’ cast member revealed

Fishel says Jacobs didn’t react kindly to the negotiation tactics used to take her from $7,500 an episode in Season 2 to $15,000 an episode in Season 3.

The young actress was advised to miss a table read to emphasize the severity of the situation. Following her raise, she says Jacobs “pulled me aside, and he said, ‘Don’t you ever pull that s--- again,’” adding that her actions were “very unprofessional.”

According to “Book Meets World,” Savage, Strong and Friedle were under contract through Season 6. Strong says, Savage, who’d gotten into Stanford, “held out for the seventh season and got a huge pay increase.”

The bump put Savage “close to, if not equal to, Daniels, earning close to six figures per episode,” the book explains. As Daniels entered the series “as an established, Emmy-winning actor, he was the highest-paid cast member.”

Friedle says he and Strong, “were making nowhere near that” salary. After negotiating together, they were paid the same amount per episode. For Season 7, Fishel’s pay “was increased to $30,000 an episode – much closer to her costars, but still 20 percent less than Strong and Friedle,” the book states.

The departures of Minkus, Mr. Turner, and the original Morgan explained

The brainy Stuart Minkus (Lee Norris), who went to school with Cory, Shawn and Topanga, departed the series after Season 1. “The most widely believed reason is that Jacobs and the team were instructed by the studio to age up the show,” per the book. “With ‘Friends’ set to make a splash at NBC, ABC had to stay competitive.”

Minkus returned for high school graduation in Season 5 and appeared in five episodes of the Disney Channel spinoff, “Girl Meets World” (2014–2017) focused on Riley, the daughter of Cory and Topanga, played by Rowan Blanchard. Sabrina Carpenter portrayed Riley’s best friend, Maya Hart.

The appeal of “Boy Meets World” apparently quickly wore off for Lily Nicksay, the first actress to play Cory and Eric’s younger sister Morgan. Just 5 at the show’s start, the book says when Nicksay learned of additional episodes ordered, she “started crying and screaming, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.’” She was not invited to return for the show’s third season and was replaced with Lindsay Ridgeway, 10 at the time.

Anthony Tyler Quinn embodied Jonathan Turner, the school’s hip teacher, who served as a father figure to Shawn. Mr. Turner was ousted after Season 4, “due to network notes and last-minute changes from the studio,” per the book. “They wanted to explore a new dynamic.”

Quinn, 64, reprised his role for three episodes of “Girl Meets World."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Boy Meets World’ cast reveals salaries, show firings and Ben Savage rift

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”