Hilary Duff May Have Hinted The 'Lizzie McGuire' Reboot Is Canceled
Hey now, this is what dreams aren't made of. Fans of Lizzie McGuire already know production of its Disney+ reboot was put on hold earlier this year after its creator and showrunner, Terri Minsky, left the project. Before Minsky's departure, the team had already filmed two episodes of the revival, so fans were pretty hopeful the show would still make it to screens after production pressed pause. Unfortunately, the odds the show actually resumes — at least with Disney+ — seem a little more bleak after Hilary Duff hinted the Lizzie McGuire reboot might be canceled on her Instagram.
In January, the Lizzie McGuire reboot was put on hold after Terri Minsky stepped down left the show. A rep from Disney+ explained the change to Variety, saying: "Fans have a sentimental attachment to Lizzie McGuire and high expectations for a new series. After filming two episodes, we concluded that we need to move in a different creative direction and are putting a new lens on the show.” The reprisal was set to revisit an adult Lizzie, now 30 years old and living in New York. It wasn't clear what new "creative direction" Disney+ had in mind for the series, but a new post by Duff lends some insight.
On Feb. 26, Duff responded to news of the Love, Simon spinoff series Love, Victor moving from Disney+ to Hulu after it was deemed not "family-friendly" enough for the original streamer. At the time of Disney+'s launch, the CEO reportedly told investors: "If they want adult content, they can subscribe to Hulu, and if they want family, there’s Disney+," which could explain the platforms switcheroo.
Duff screen-shotted the headline in an Instagram story, circled "not family friendly", and wrote "sounds familiar" above it, which seems to suggest Lizzie McGuire faced similar concerns. So, if Love, Simon isn't going to make it on Disney+, there's reason to believe the Lizzie McGuire reboot might not make it there either, and seemingly for similar reasons.
Minsky seemed to confirm the situation in a recent interview with Variety:
“I am so proud of the two episodes we did. Hilary has a grasp of Lizzie McGuire at 30 that needs to be seen. It’s a wonderful thing to watch. I would love the show to exist, but ideally I would love it if it could be given that treatment of going to Hulu and doing the show that we were doing. That’s the part where I am completely in the dark. It’s important to me that this show was important to people. I felt like I wanted to do a show that was worthy of that kind of devotion.”
Despite apparent frustrations, Disney+ has not yet made any official announcement about the show's future, and the search for a showrunner to replace Minsky is apparently still on. In a statement to Variety, an unnamed Disney spokesperson explained: “Our goal is to resume production and to tell an authentic story that connects to the millions who are emotionally invested in the character, and a new generation of viewers too.”
Fans can only hope the powers-that-be will come to an agreement, or at least move the show to another streaming platform, so the reboot won't be cancelled completely.
