The reboot of popular 2000s Disney Channel sitcom Lizzie McGuire was cancelled. Now, one of its writers has revealed a few new details about its plot.
Hilary Duff was a huge star among pre-teens in the early 2000s thanks to her portrayal of the eponymous character in Disney Channel sitcom Lizzie McGuire – and its subsequent movie.
The show followed the awkward, klutzy teen as she navigated life, school with best friends Gordo and Miranda, played by Adam Lamberg and Lalaine. There was also her family – her younger brother Matt, played by Jake Thomas, and her embarrassing parents, played by Hallie Todd and Robert Carradine – whose brother David appeared in one episode as a mentor to Matt when he made his own kung fu film.
One memorable aspect of the show was the frequent use of an animated version of Lizzie, which represented her inner monologue. The show’s popularity led to feature film spin-off The Lizzie McGuire Movie in 2003, which also served as the series finale.
As with many shows of that era, like iCarly and That’s So Raven, an adult-oriented reboot was in the works a few years ago. Several episodes were shot, with Duff reprising her role and creator Terri Minski set to direct, but the series wasn’t picked up, with creative differences cited as the main issue. Duff and Minski wanted the show to reflect Lizzie’s age and have storylines touch on adult issues, while Disney+ wanted the show to be family friendly.
In a recent TikTok video (as reported by Deadline), writer Jonathan Hurwitz revealed details about the storylines that were planned for the reboot.
The two episodes shot see “Lizzie living in New York City and working as an interior designer. Lizzie soon finds out her chef boyfriend is cheating on her with her best friend, which prompts her to move back to her childhood home in California, where animated Lizzie is waiting for her. In Episode Two, Lizzie finds out her childhood friend Gordo is about to be a father and happily engaged. The episode ends with Lizzie getting a message from her childhood crush, Ethan Craft”.
Hurwitz went on to describe the plot of episode three, which was written but never filmed. He cites it as the episode which caused Disney to baulk at continuing, as it featured allusions to Lizzie’s sex life.
Hurwitz explained that “Lizzie wakes up in Ethan’s bed, in his water polo T-shirt. Animated Lizzie pops up and she has this little checklist, like a to-do list, and Ethan is on the list and she checks it off. I think she says something like, ‘I checked that box –dramatic pause – twice.’ So if I had to guess, I saw another comment about certain storylines [about] why Disney wasn’t comfortable with it, my guess was… that moment was probably one of them”.
Although the reboot was cancelled, the cast reunited during lockdown for a virtual readthrough of one of the most popular episodes, Between A Rock And A Bra Place, which you can watch here.
You can watch all episodes of Lizzie McGuire on Disney+.
