On September 8, 2007, "iCarly" debuted on Nickelodeon and quickly became a fan favorite. On the show, Kress plays Fredward "Freddie" Benson, the technical producer for the fictional web-show "iCarly", which stars his character's two best friends, Carly Shay (Cosgrove) and Samantha "Sam" Puckett (McCurdy). His character has a crush on the main character Carly, and a feuding, bitter-sweet, love/hate relationship with Carly's best friend and web-show co-star, Sam. The show became Nickelodeon's most-watched show aimed at tweens, and catapulted Kress to international fame among adolescents. Kress' performance on the show has been characterized by one reviewer for "Variety" as "sweetly nerdy".