Posted in: Disney+, streaming, TV | Tagged: bleeding cool, cable, disney, hilary duff, hulu, lizzie mcguire, streaming, television, tv

Lizzie McGuire Sequel Series Dead at Disney+; Hilary Duff Confirms

Lizzie McGuire fans who were excited about the upcoming modern take on the character that saw Hilary Duff returning to the character for Disney+ might want to sit down for this one. Six months ago, Craig Erwich, Hulu's head of original content, had already set a pretty ominous tone when he told Vanity Fair, regarding the idea of the series moving to Hulu so the series could take on more mature storylines, "I appreciate her fandom. We have not had any conversations with Hilary Duff around her show." On Wednesday, Duff took to Instagram to make it official: the two sides could not reach a creative compromise so it would not be moving forward.

"I know the efforts and conversations have been everywhere trying to make a reboot work but, sadly & despite everyone's best efforts, it isn't going to happen," Duff wrote. "I want any reboot of Lizzie to be honest and authentic to who Lizzie would be today. It's what the character deserves." You can check out the entire post below:

A month after series creator Terri Minsky and Disney+ had a parting of the ways over the revival series' creative direction and production on the series was put on hiatus, Duff took to Instagram to reaffirm where she would like to see "Lizzie" land: "I'd be doing a disservice to everyone by limiting the realities of a 30-year-old's journey to live under the ceiling of a PG rating. It's important to me that just as her experiences as 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."

Variety writer Joe Otterson offered a look behind the scenes on what's being on (and wrong) with the revival – here are some highlights from the article. Duff's interest in going for a more "adult" return to the character was evident in an Instagram story she posted regarding the move of Love, Victor to Hulu with the words "family-friendly" circled (should be able to still see it here). Speaking with Variety after "parting ways" with Disney+, Minsky praised Duff's older, more mature portrayal of Lizzie McGuire – so much so that a move to Hulu was welcomed: "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."

Sources in the Variety report stated that the streaming service, Minsky, and Duff were all on the same page regarding the creative approach to the new series and what it would include. While Minsky would not comment on how she learned about her firing and production being suspended, it's being reported that she, her writing staff, the production team, and Duff only learned of the show's status after the initial Variety report went to post (with Variety reaching out to Disney before going live). Duff was on her honeymoon in Mozambique with husband Matthew Koma when she learned the news. Original series cast members Adam Lamberg, Hallie Todd, Robert Carradine, and Jake Thomas, along with writers and production staff, are still waiting for a decision on the show's future.

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