It is a weird feeling to realize that the middle-schoolers we watched navigate the hallways of John Quincy Adams Middle School are now basically the titans of the entertainment industry. Or, in some cases, they’ve completely vanished into the world of indie film and political activism. Honestly, if you still think of the cast of Girl Meets World as just a group of Disney kids, you haven’t been paying attention to the charts or the trades lately.
The show wrapped in 2017. That feels like a lifetime ago. Back then, the biggest drama was whether Riley would end up with Lucas or if Maya’s "Huckleberry" nicknames were actually a sign of deep-seated affection. Fast forward to 2026, and the landscape is unrecognizable. We have a literal pop-prophet, a burgeoning prestige TV star, and a podcast empire that has basically become the unofficial therapy session for 90s kids.
Sabrina Carpenter is the Keyword Everyone is Searching For
Let’s just address the elephant in the room: Sabrina Carpenter. Maya Hart was always the "cool" one, but nobody—and I mean nobody—predicted she would become the definitive pop star of the mid-2020s.
By the start of 2026, Sabrina isn't just "doing well." She's fresh off a historic 2025 where her album Man’s Best Friend debuted at the top of the Billboard 200, moving over 360,000 units in its first week. You’ve probably heard "Tears" or "Manchild" on a loop if you’ve stepped into a grocery store or opened TikTok in the last six months. She’s headlining Coachella 2026. That is a sentence that would have sounded like fan-fiction back during the Girl Meets World Season 1 days.
What’s interesting about Sabrina is how she views her Disney era now. She told Teen Vogue a while back that while she’s proud of it, she’d do things differently today. It’s a classic case of outgrowing the mouse ears. She doesn't even own a TV in her apartment. She calls herself "old school," which is a hilarious contrast to her being the most-streamed female artist of the past year.
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Rowan Blanchard: From Riley Matthews to Gilead
While her on-screen best friend was conquering the radio, Rowan Blanchard was busy becoming the queen of high-concept sci-fi and intense activism. Rowan has always been... different. Even at 13, she was writing essays about intersectional feminism that made adults look twice.
Right now, she is one of the most anticipated parts of The Testaments, the massive Hulu sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. She’s playing Shunammite, a character that is about as far from the bubbly, "yay-optimism" of Riley Matthews as you can possibly get. If you followed her role as Alex Cavill in Snowpiercer, you saw this coming. She has this heavy, soulful screen presence that works perfectly for dystopian dramas.
Off-screen, she’s stayed true to the "activist" label. She’s been incredibly vocal about the conflict in Gaza and human rights issues, often using her platform in ways that make Hollywood publicists sweat. She identifies as queer, she’s written a book, and she basically lives the life of a 1970s New York intellectual who just happens to have 5 million Instagram followers.
The Boys of the Cast of Girl Meets World
What happened to the "Texas" contingent? Peyton Meyer, who played the heartthrob Lucas Friar, had a bit of a rollercoaster. He spent 2024 and 2025 on Days of Our Lives as Doug Williams III. It was a surprising pivot to soaps, but he actually killed it. However, he exited the show in July 2025. People keep asking if he’s quitting acting, but he seems more focused on his family life these days after some highly publicized personal transitions.
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Then there’s Corey Fogelmanis (Farkle). If you haven't seen his Instagram lately, you might not recognize him. He’s fully embraced the high-fashion world. In late 2025, he was modeling for Ludovic de Saint Sernin’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection alongside Emma Chamberlain. He’s still acting, too—he's got a project in the works with the creators of The White Lotus—but he’s definitely moved into that "indie darling" space where he’s more likely to be seen at a Paris fashion show than a Disney premiere.
The Parents: Podcasting and Politics
We can’t talk about the cast of Girl Meets World without the legends who started it all in the 90s.
- Danielle Fishel (Topanga): She is basically the hardest-working woman in Hollywood. She’s currently co-hosting the Dancing With The Stars 2026 live tour. On top of that, her podcast Pod Meets World is a juggernaut. She just launched another one called Teen Beat in early 2026, where she interviews celebs about their awkward middle school diaries. She’s basically turned nostalgia into a full-scale media corporation.
- Ben Savage (Cory): Ben took a hard left turn into politics. He ran for Congress in California’s 30th district in 2024. He didn't win the primary, losing out to Laura Friedman, but he hasn't exactly gone back to acting. He seems content with his political science background, living a much more private life than his former co-stars.
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception is that this cast "fell off" because they aren't all on one hit sitcom together. In reality, they are more influential now than they were when the show was airing.
You have a cast that produced a global pop icon, a prestige TV actress, a fashion icon, and a political candidate. That’s a better "success rate" than almost any other Disney show in history. Usually, you get one breakout star and five people who end up doing reality TV. With this group, everyone stayed busy, just in vastly different lanes.
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Your Next Steps for Following the Cast
If you want to keep up with what they're doing right now, here is the roadmap:
- Listen to Man’s Best Friend: If you want to understand why Sabrina Carpenter is the biggest name in music, start with the tracks "Tears" and "Bed Chem."
- Watch The Testaments on Hulu: This is where you'll see Rowan Blanchard cement herself as a serious dramatic actress.
- Check out Teen Beat: Danielle Fishel's new podcast is the best way to get that nostalgia fix without re-watching old episodes for the tenth time.
- Follow Corey Fogelmanis on Socials: If you’re into aesthetic photography and avant-garde fashion, his feed is significantly more interesting than the standard "actor" profile.
The cast of Girl Meets World has officially moved past the shadow of their predecessors. They aren't just the kids of Cory and Topanga anymore; they’re the ones actually shaping the culture in 2026.
Expert Insight: When tracking the long-term success of child actors, the "Disney Curse" is often cited. However, the Girl Meets World ensemble avoided this by diversifying early. By leaning into music (Carpenter), activism (Blanchard), and behind-the-scenes production (Fishel), they’ve built careers that don't rely on their teenage likenesses.
Next Steps for You: Check the 2026 Coachella lineup to see Sabrina Carpenter’s set times, or look for The Testaments premiere date on your Hulu dashboard to see Rowan’s latest evolution.