It’s been 30 years since the American coming-of-age sitcom aired as a part of ABC’s TGIF lineup from 1993 to 2000. People used to sit around their sets to watch Cory and Eric Matthews, Topanga Lawrence, Shawn Hunter and their classmates on screen.

The trio has been joined by some of their former classmates to look back at their journey through the show. Here are some of the secrets shared by the cast of the show.

“We were not discussing safe sex…”

When asked about episodes that had been banned from airing on Disney Channel, Rider mentioned an episode titled ‘Prom-ises, Prom-ises’ where Topanga is thinking of having sex with Cory after senior prom.

“I remember being very upset during that entire week,” began Rider while talking about the episode.

“I was very upset with the adults on our set — the way that they were approaching this, specifically because we were not discussing safe sex.”

Rider remembers trying to talk to Michael Jacobs about the issue and he shared that Michael completely blew him off.

“We were growing up in the era of AIDS, this is something that we have to talk about. When you are discussing losing your virginity, you discuss how you’re going to do it and how to be safe about it, and he completely blew me off.”

“You are also not going to be here…”

Danielle Fishel mentioned that she was almost fired on the first day of filming.

Danielle, who was 12 at the time, was initially cast to play a smaller role in the show. However, she ended up replacing the girl who was originally cast to play Topanga.

It was her habit of speaking quickly that proved to be a roadblock at the beginning of her acting journey, as Michael warned of firing her if she did not set her pace.

“What I know specifically was said is, ‘All I know is, if you don’t come back tomorrow doing this entirely differently, you are also not going to be here,’ referencing the girl I had replaced,” remembered Danielle.

She remembers “going over every single line” with her mom all night and was commended by Michael for her improvement the next day.

“You know one of my favorite things about Rider…”

In a 2022 episode, fans asked the cast about any on-set crushes and Danielle voluntarily shared that she had a crush on Rider Strong.

Rider who was surprised by the confession responded, “That’s not true, You’ve never told me that.”

“It’s too true,” responded Danielle.

“You know one of my favorite things about Rider, and it still stands to this day, Rider is very effusive,” she said remembering what attracted her to Rider back then.

“He will tell you how he feels and he’s very free with his compliments, but he doesn’t throw them out willy-nilly. When Rider compliments you it is thoughtful, it has meaning, and you can tell … it’s coming from a very real place.”

You can listen to their podcast, ‘Pod Meets World’ to learn more about the classic show.