Typically, a hit show's series finale will offer farewells to its various stars by giving each of the major players one more time to shine in the last episode. This was not the case for Boy Meets World, as Trina McGee's Angela Moore, who dated Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong), was not in the Boy Meets World finale, although she was in the penultimate episode. This was apparently no accident according to McGee who has now opened up about her exclusion in the series finale.
Per Variety, this comes straight from McGee who spoke about her experiences filming the show for the official rewatch podcast, "Pod Meets World." McGee says she was approached by someone high up and told that the other stars of the show asked for her not to be involved. As McGee told the podcast co-hosts Strong, Danielle Fishel, and Will Friedle:
“I was told, in kind of a weird, off-handed way by a very important person, that you guys all went to [showrunner] Michael Jacobs, and you said, ‘We don’t want her in the last episode. She’s somehow taking our light.’ [That] was the gist of it. I was told that after I shot what was the show before the last episode, which was called ‘Angela’s Ashes’ when I left. When Michael announced to me, we’re going to do another show on Angela, I was so happy, not knowing this was going to be the show before the last show.”
Strong, Fishel, and Friedle were quick to shut down that notion, shocked to hear that McGee was told this and insisting that none of them had ever said such a thing. McGee does say she believes them based on their reactions, but at the time, she took it to heart, and it was deeply upsetting.
"I have had that in my head for so long, and I’ve never watched that show. I’ve always felt like, ugh. … That hurt me a long time.”
McGee also recalled the emotions she felt back then and couldn't help but question the real reason she wasn't invited to appear in the episode.
“I remember after we taped the show, I had said to a person, ‘Why aren’t we on the last show?’ Because I know the last show was going to be the one with the ratings and the crying and all the stuff. I was under the impression that y’all got together and did not want me in the last show, for some reason I was going to take some shine or something to that effect. That was really hurtful to me for a long time. To make it worse, people of color tend to look into things a little harder sometimes. So I had cousins calling me, saying, ‘How come you weren’t in the last episode? They just gave you that whole show so that you’d be distracted and wouldn’t be in the show with the real ratings?’ Several of my cousins, my family members were telling me this. … I have honestly had that in my head for 20 years.”
Trina McGee Was Asked to Tone Down Her 'Black Meter'
McGee had another memory from working on the show that was something her co-stars did not have to worry about. She describes utilizing a "Black meter" which she had to tone down several notches after she was told by the showrunner to "turn down the Telma Hopkins," referring to the actress who played Rachel Baines Crawford in Family Matters.
“Coming from Black sitcoms, I always had to have like a Black meter… My Black meter was probably down to a 2. I remember when I was doing ‘Angela’s Ashes’ episode, somehow my Black meter had slipped up and I was at about a 9. Michael came over to me and his note was, ‘Hey Trina, just turn down the Telma Hopkins about eight notches.' I knew exactly what he was talking about and I did. … There are so many things you guys are so lucky you didn’t have to think about.”
You can check out the full interview with Trina McGee on the "Pod Meets World" podcast.