Michelle Obama is going to be on one of Nickelodeon's most popular shows. The first lady is set to appear on an upcoming episode of the comedy iCarly to promote Joining Forces, an initiative aimed at increasing awareness and support for military families, the network's president said today. Obama's daughters are fans of the show, and the first lady approached Dan Schneider, the show’s creator, about doing an episode specifically for the new initiative. “After he was done jumping for joy,” Nickelodeon's president said, “Dan sat down and came up with a very, very clever idea."
The show's main character, Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove), is the daughter of a colonel serving overseas in the military. When Carly's two best friends break some rules to set up a web chat so Carly can speak to her dad on his birthday, the first lady will intervene to put a positive spin on the situation. The network president isn't concerned that featuring the first lady and promoting the Joining Forces program would make a political statement for the show or Nickelodeon. "It's a feel-good initiative," she says, "and regardless of your political affinity, everybody cares about these families, so it just feels right." The Obama iCarly episode will likely air in January. (More First Lady Michelle Obama stories.)