Disney has confirmed that the Lizzie McGuire reboot will not be going ahead, while its star Hilary Duff said “despite everyone’s best efforts, it isn’t going to happen”.
The revamp of the much-loved series has been in doubt for some time, ever since show runner Terri Minsky left the show in January in a disagreement over the direction of the reboot.
According to EW, Disney wanted to keep the show PG-friendly and suitable for Disney+, but Minsky and Duff wanted to be faithful to the life of the now 30-year-old central character. Duff wanted the show transferred to Disney’s more adult Hulu streaming platform.
A Disney spokesperson told EW, “Lizzie McGuire fans have high expectations for any new stories. Unless and until we are confident we can meet those expectations, we’ve decided to hold off and today, we informed the cast’s representatives that we are not moving forward with the planned series.”
Duff, who starred as the teenager on Disney Channel from 2001-2004, said on Instagram that she wanted any reboot to be “honest and authentic to who Lizzie would be today”.
“It’s what the character deserves,” she said. “We can all take a moment to mourn the amazing woman she would have been and the amazing adventures we would have taken.”
The Lizzie McGuire reboot started filming in November last year before coming to a halt in January.
Minsky left the production soon after while Disney said the revival would be heading “in a different creative direction”.
Lizzie McGuire ran for 65 episodes over two seasons, plus one feature-length movie in 2003, and its depiction of the life of the awkward teenager desperate for a popularity made a star out of Duff.
She signed off her Instagram post: “I’m very said, I promise everyone tried their best and the stars just didn’t align. Hey now, this is what 2020s made of.”
Check out what else is on with our TV Guide, or take a look at our new TV shows 2020 page to find out what’s airing this autumn and beyond.
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