'iCarly' star Reed Alexander says that reuniting with the cast for the revival was like 'picking up a friendship right where it left off'

• "iCarly" actor Reed Alexander spoke to Insider about reuniting with the cast on the revival.
• Alexander reprised his role as Nevel Papperman on the latest episode of the show.
• "It's kind of like picking up a friendship, right where it left off," the actor said.

"iCarly" star Reed Alexander had no idea what his return as Nevel Papperman on the Paramount+ revival would entail, but agreeing to participate was "a very easy decision."

"I had tremendous faith that it would work," Alexander, 26, told Insider.

"I knew that Nevel was such a fun character that no matter which way they took it, he was going to be over the top and dramatic and he was going to speak in a very Shakespearean way," he continued. "We would bring all of those hallmarks of Nevel to whatever plotline that the writers decided on."

Alexander, who's currently a finance reporter at Insider, reprised his role as Carly Shay's (Miranda Cosgrove) childhood nemesis on episode five of the revival, released on Thursday.

The actor portrayed the nefarious character on the original "iCarly" series that ran for six seasons on Nickelodeon between 2007 and 2012. On the latest episode, his character orchestrated a fake, robot-themed wedding in his ongoing attempt to win over Carly.

Alexander headed to the Paramount Lot in California in April to film his episode for 10 days, about a month or so after he got the call asking if he was interested in guest-starring. The actor described the experience as "coming back to visit old friends and revisit a part of my life that had not really been active in a while."

Alexander said that his team at Insider was "incredibly supportive" of him revisiting the sitcom that he grew up on. But he didn't unplug from reporting while on set with his castmates. Instead, he'd step away during rehearsals whenever he received a juicy finance tip.

"The other actors got a real kick out of it because I would say to them, 'These are things that are very high level. Guys, as you know, I cover banks. I'm getting a really hot tip that I need to deal with,'" Alexander said. "I don't think that happens all the time on set."

In compliance with safety protocols, the cast did their first table read via Zoom from their dressing rooms. Alexander said that any jitters he had about returning to acting "just went out the window" when he reunited with the cast.

"It's kind of like picking up a friendship, right where it left off," Alexander said. "It's not just a friendship, but doing a job and doing this professional dance together. And the table read really, really worked. And I got out of that Zoom table read thinking, 'OK we can do this.'"

"And Nevel, who had been asleep for eight years, just kind of re-awoke and we got right back down to business," he added.

Unlike the original series, Jennette McCurdy, who quit acting, doesn't appear as Sam Puckett. Alexander said that McCurdy's "amazing work" won't be forgotten by fans or the cast.

"Everybody loved the way that she played Sam," he said. "And we're all gonna remember the quality of her performance."

Alexander described newcomers Laci Mosley (Harper) and Jaidyn Triplett (Millicent) as "dynamic presences" who brought the same quality of comedy that the original series was known for.

The actor also said that the show debuting during this time serves as "a great big hug" for fans.

"There's so much stress and so many big questions about where people go from here as the world reopens and as this country reopens," Alexander said. "And the safety and security of being able to go back to the show that you felt so safe with years ago, people kind of need that at this moment more than ever."