Anna Daniels
All things are not rosy over at the House of Mouse. After yesterday’s surprise announcement that the Doctor Strange sequel was losing its director, the streaming side of Disney is seeing its own troubles. The highly anticipated Lizzie McGuire revival series has been put on pause by Disney+ following the sudden departure of original series creator Terri Minsky, who stepped down as showrunner on the project after filming two episodes.
TVLine reports that Terri Minsky, who created the original beloved preteen comedy series Lizzie McGuire, which ran on Disney Channel from 2001-2004, has stepped down as the Lizzie McGuire revival showrunner. Production has been halted on the series as Disney+ moves the series in a “different creative direction,” a Disney spokesperson said.
“Fans have a sentimental attachment to Lizzie McGuire and high expectations for a new series,” the spokesperson told TVLine. “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.”
Minsky was attached as executive producer on the revival series, but it’s currently unclear if she’ll keep that role. Disney+ is currently searching for a new showrunner.
This is a big bummer for fans of Lizzie McGuire, who were whipped into an excited frenzy by the brief glimpse we got of the character played by Hilary Duff in a new Disney+ trailer. Duff is set to reprise the role of Lizzie, who in the original series was a spunky middle school girl with a cartoon alter ego that frequently broke the fourth wall. The revival series would pick up with Lizzie as a 30-year-old interior designer apprentice living in New York City. In August, Duff teased a few details about the series, describing Lizzie’s life in the series as being “framed pretty perfectly” when the show begins: “She has her dream job [as] an apprentice for an interior designer,” as well as a “cute little apartment in Brooklyn” and “a gorgeous fiancé who is a chef at this cool SoHo restaurant.”
But obviously Lizzie will be caught up in some shenanigans, probably with the return of Lizzie’s best friend Gordo, played by Adam Lamberg, one of the few returning cast members including Lizzie’s family played by Hallie Todd, Robert Carradine, and Jake Thomas. Animated Lizzie is promised to make a comeback as well, as Lizzie’s 13-year-old inner voice.
I have to say I was excited about this series, growing up watching Lizzie McGuire as a kid (I may not have had cable, but I had my ways). This revival series seemed like a fresh way to bring back the series while keeping the original spirit — I get 13 Going on 30 vibes from the description, especially with the element of Lizzie’s 13-year-old animated avatar returning. Hopefully as the revival series heads in the new “creative direction,” it doesn’t change too much from this approach.
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