Rider Strong was 'miserable' filming alcoholic episode of “Boy Meets World”, calls it a 'disservice'

On the latest episode of his rewatch podcast with Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle, the actor reflects on the episode that did not air on Disney Channel due to its mature subject matter.

Rider Strong revisited one of his least favorite episodes of Boy Meets World, revealing on his rewatch podcast that he was "miserable" filming the sitcom's episode that tackled underaged drinking.

In season 5's "If You Can't Be With the One You Love," a depressed Cory (Ben Savage) turns to alcohol to cope with his breakup from Topanga (Danielle Fishel). He tempts his best pal Shawn (Strong) to do the same, and though the two vow to never drink again after they're caught, Shawn continues to do so, leading to grave concern from his friends considering his own father's history of alcoholism.

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On the latest episode of Pod Meets World, Strong told co-hosts and former costars Fishel and Will Friedle that he was "so miserable" shooting the episode — which actually never even aired on Disney Channel considering its mature subject matter — on account of having no idea how to act drunk, among other reasons.

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"I was probably 17 the first time I tried alcohol, so it was probably right before this," said Strong. "But I remember Ben and I talking about, like, how do you play drunk and having conversations about it. And he nails it. He's so good at it."

Looking back at it now, Strong feels the episode was too ambitious in its attempt to tackle such a serious topic within the scope of a 20+ minute sitcom episode. The first half of the episode sees Shawn "having a good time with Cory and doing handstands and peeing on cop cars and just, like, woohoo, fun loving," recalled Strong. "And then in that second half, it's as if he's a 45-year-old alcoholic who's like, 'I can't stop, but I gotta keep doing this.' I don't think that's realistic."

Fishel observed that Shawn "didn't actually experience any consequences," adding, "It's such a such a journey to have to go on in such a short amount of time."

"You don't even lose your girlfriend after assaulting her," said Friedle, referencing the scene where an intoxicated Shawn shoves Angela (Trina McGee).

Added Strong, "The real problem that I see is it's actually a disservice to people. The real issue with drinking is that often it's sneakier, it's weirder, it's slower. It slowly takes over people's lives . . . to condense it is to oversimplify the issue in a way. The counterargument I'm making in my own head is that it's for children. And for children, you just wanna see that drinking is bad. Stay away from it for as long as you can. Do it when you're older."

But "to try and cram an entire alcoholic journey and sobriety journey into 22 minutes — that's not ever what it actually is like, you know?" said Strong. "That's never how it happens in real life. So in a weird way, it's hurting the issue that it's trying to address."

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Created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly, the coming-of-age sitcom centered on Savage's Cory as he navigated life and love in Philadelphia. The beloved comedy — which ran for seven seasons between 1993 and 2000 and often touched on serious subject matters, including domestic violence and cult indoctrination — aired on ABC but was later syndicated on the Disney Channel.

Shawn's alcoholism episode was one of three that Disney did not air, the other two being season 5's "Prom-ises, Prom-ises" and season 6's "The Truth About Honesty" as they both dealt with the topic of sex.

Listen to the latest Pod Meets World episode above.