The future doesn’t look so bright for Lizzie McGuire. The highly anticipated revival by Disney+ has paused production, according to a new report from The Hollywood Reporter. In a lengthy piece, published on March 9 about Disney’s new streaming platform, the outlet reports that the first episode script acknowledges cheating and intimacy as a central plot point — something Disney+ exec, whom values its family and child friendly content, allegedly took issue with. THR notes that they’ve read the first episode script. No other details were provided.
The report comes as soon after series creator and executive producer Terri Minsky was let go from the revival after two episodes were completed. Titular star and executive producer Hilary Duff remained silent on the latter until Love, Victor, the Love, Simon sequel series, was moved from Disney+ to Hulu after reports that Disney+ believed its plot — about a high school student struggling with his sexual orientation — didn’t fit its family friendly standards.
“Was incredibly excited to launch Lizzie on D+ and my passion remains! However, I feel a huge responsibility to honor the fans’ relationship with Lizzie, who, like me, grew up seeing themselves in her. I’d be doing a disservice to everyone by limited the realities of a 30-year-old’s journey to live under the ceiling of a PG rating,” the actress wrote in a statement on her Instagram account at the end of February. “It’s important to me that just as her experiences a preteen/teenager navigating life were authentic, her next chapters are equally as real and relatable. It would be a dream if Disney would let us move the show to Hulu, if they were interested, and I could bring this beloved character to life again,” Hilary concluded.
Not many details were revealed when the Lizzie McGuire revival was announced other than a brief note that Hilary would reprise her role as the iconic blonde who’s now a “30-year-old millennial navigating life” in NYC. Robert Carradine, Adam Lamberg, Jake Thomas, and Hallie Todd were all set to return, along with her animated alter ego.
Hilary has not publicly addressed the new report. HollywoodLife reached out to a representative for the actress, as well as Disney+.
Disney originally aired Lizzie McGuire between 2001 and 2004 for a total of two seasons. The Emmy-nominated show followed Lizzie, along with her best friends, through their melodramatic middle school years and tackled topics such as social issues, teenage crushes, bullying, and more. The success of the show led to The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003).