UPDATED February 28, 8:15 p.m. ET: On Friday, Hilary Duff shared a statement on Instagram about moving the Lizzie McGuire reboot from Disney+ to Hulu to accommodate the adult themes of the new series. You can read what she wrote below.
See original story from 02/26/2020 below.
Fans were excited when it was revealed Lizzie McGuirewould be rebooted on the Disney+ streaming platform. Yet shortly after this announcement, the project ran into a few hiccups. The series' star and executive producer, Hilary Duff, has remained quiet during this phase. But now it appears like she's alluding to why the show's production has been stalled.
On her Instagram Stories, Duff posted an article that explained why the series Love, Simon—now titled Love, Victor—was moved from Disney+ to Hulu. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Disney made it switch platforms because it contained "adult themes" that weren't suitable for the direction of Disney+.
Duff alluded to this same issue holding back the Lizzie McGuire reboot.
"Sounds familiar," Duff said in reference to Love, Victor being described as "not family-friendly."
The original creator of Lizzie McGuire, Terri Minsky, signed on to be the reboot's executive producer alongside Duff. Together they shot two episodes they felt would set the stage. But after Disney decided to put a "new lens" on what Duff and Minsky wanted to create, Minsky decided to walk away from the series.
"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 series," a Disney spokesperson said following Minsky's departure in January.
The new Lizzie McGuire series was set to follow Duff's character while she navigates life in New York City as an assistant to an interior decorator. Original co-stars Adam Lamberg, Hallie Todd, Robert Carradine, and Jake Thomas had all signed on to reprise their roles. The goal of the reboot was to give fans an adult perspective of the show's theme.
"I think there's a lot of pressure involved with pleasing the fans that are so opinionated, which I love so much, and I have similar strong opinions on where people ended up, what got her to New York, who's still in her life and who isn't, her job, her personal journey," Duff said during the announcement of the show in August 2019.
Yet, this new look on Lizzie's internal struggles might have been too mature for Disney+, leaving the series' future uncertain.
