The Team Behind 'Lizzie McGuire' Finally Shared What They Planned for the Reboot

Back in 2019, when Disney+ was still establishing itself among its streaming competition, it announced (to much celebration, we might add) that there would be a reboot of the beloved Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire. Hilary Duff, the titular Lizzie, was on hand to share the news at that year's D23, a Disney fan convention — but fans' dreams were dashed when just a year later, the show was scrapped. Now, former writer Jonathan Hurwitz has shared some behind-the-scenes intel on why he thinks the show got the boot and what fans could have had if Disney+ wasn't scared to court a little controversy.

In a TikTok video, Hurwitz explained that Lizzie was living in New York City and working as an interior designer. She would also have been dating a "handsome chef" who happened to be "cheating on her with her best friend." So, she returns to California and the house that fans will remember from the original show, which ran from 2001 to 2004.

"In episode two after Lizzie comes home and she's heartbroken and emotional, she does what anyone would do in that situation, which is put on Ariana Grande and give herself bangs," Hurwitz said. "Gordo reveals that he is engaged to a woman and she's pregnant and they're really happy. So no, in this version, Lizzie and Gordo would not have ended up together."

Hurwitz also explained that Ethan Craft (Clayton Snyder) would return — as well as the beloved cartoon version of Lizzie. 

"Lizzie wakes up in Ethan's bed in his water polo T-shirt," Hurwitz shared. "Animated Lizzie pops up and she has this little checklist, like a to-do list, and Ethan's on it, and she checks it off. I think she says something like, 'Well, I checked that box,' dramatic pause, 'Twice.'"

He added a major detail which many fans believed would be the reason for Disney's cancelation of the show. The sex, which wouldn't even have been explicit.

"We weren't actually going to show them having — I can't even say the word — having s-e-x, just Lizzie waking up in Ethan's shirt and then Ethan comes in with freshly made coffee and they have this cute catchup," he said. Hurwitz also noted that Lizzie would have had a gay roommate, who was "loosely based" on himself.

Back in 2022, Duff also shared her thoughts on the situation. Speaking to Women's Health, the actress said that she believed that the show was just going to be a realistic depiction of a woman in her 30s.

"She had to be 30 years old doing 30-year-old things. She didn't need to be doing bong rips and having one-night stands all the time, but it had to be authentic," she said. "I think [the network] got spooked."

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