Ben Savage To Direct Episode Of 'Girl Meets World'

by UInterviewApril 18, 2014, 12:00 amNews >

Ben Savage will be taking a turn behind the camera to make his directorial debut with an episode of Girl Meets World.

Savage rose to stardom as a child actor in the popular sitcom Boy Meets World (1993-2000), which will be revived this summer when the spinoff, Girl Meets World premieres on the Disney Channel. Savage reprises his role as Cory Matthews alongside his TV wife Danielle Fishel, aka Topanga Matthews, but this time around the show will focus on his tween daughter, Riley (Rowan Blanchard) and her best friend Maya (Sabrina Carpenter).

Savage will be directing an episode in which Riley and Maya give a weird girl a makeover to make her more attractive – in their eyes – to their friend Farkle (Corey Fogelmanis). In the end, they realize that true beauty isn’t what’s on the outside. The plot is somewhat reminiscent of early episodes of Boy Meets World, particularly season 2’s “Turnaround” when Shawn (Rider Strong) and Cory give a girl a makeover to make her more popular.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s going to be exciting and it’s going to be an interesting experience,” Savage told The Hollywood Reporter of his directing debut.

Savage revealed it feels very natural for him to be making his directorial debut on Girl Meets World due to his deep connection to the show.

“It was a natural progression because I had always wanted to direct and I felt such a personal connection to the show. It was an important piece of my life really. Directing was a natural next step for me and it’s something I was looking forward to doing,” Savage said.

Aside from his years of on-set experience, Savage can always turn to his brother, Fred Savage, for advice. Fred was also a child actor (The Wonder Years) and has also made the transition into directing for television.

“Fred and I have had many discussions about it. He’s always willing to offer advice and suggestions and pointers when he can. He’d be a very helpful guide as I go through this process.”

Girl Meets World is a multi-camera show that shoots in front of a live audience, but Savage says he has been in that environment his entire life, and the pressure doesn’t faze him. He added that having such a loyal fan base helps lessen the stress.

“One of the wonderful things about the show is we have a loyal fan base and they’ve been with us since the beginning and they haven’t left us. That’s one thing we will always appreciate and never take for granted,” Savage said.

Girl Meets World is set to premiere sometime in the summer of 2014.

– Olivia Truffaut-Wong