While newly-launched streaming VOD
service Disney+ already has a significant strength in its massive library of
films and TV shows from Disney and varied other related labels, it is also
pushing the envelope when it comes to developing exclusive original programming
to both set it apart from other platforms and draw in more subscriptions. The
most talked-about Disney+ originals tend to be the spinoffs for “Star Wars” and
the new inter-connected series to the Marvel Cinematic Universe; but reboots
and sequels to existing franchises from the Disney Channel are also on the
table. To give examples, there is “Lizzie McGuire.”
It has been close to two decades
since teen dramedy “Lizzie McGuire,” created by Terri Minsky and starring
Hillary Duff, premiered on Disney Channel and ran for two seasons from 2001 to
2004. Disney announced a distant sequel to the show as a Disney+ exclusive,
with Minsky return as show-runner and Duff reprising her lead role. Entertainment Weekly has since compiled
all pertinent information on the follow-up drama sitcom, and this is how it
stands.
The new “Lizzie McGuire” show is
set 15 years after the end of the original Disney Channel run. The titular
character played by Duff has gone quite a long way from being a teenager going
through adolescence and forming her own identity since then. Now approaching
30, a grown-up Lizzie works as an interior decorating assistant in New York
City, with a nice apartment in Brooklyn and a restaurateur fiancé. But just
like in the early 2000s, there are still some problems that life throws Lizzie’s
way as a Millennial living in the Big Apple, but as before she can shoulder on
with the help of her family and friends.
As Hillary Duff puts it, her take
on Lizzie at this stage in her life has her being older and wiser, but still
able to be taken by surprise at life’s sudden swerves. As the new Disney+
starts, she would even find herself leaving New York and returning to her
hometown in L.A., which makes a great story in itself. Photos shared by the
actress on Instagram showcase how her character has changed yet stays somewhat
the same, from her stylish “work” clothes to her familiar Lisa Frank casual
shirt.
Confirmed other returnees to “Lizzie
McGuire” include her animated avatar (apparently still a teen talking in her
adult head and to the audience), and the whole McGuire family in Robert
Carradine (Lizzie’s dad), Hallie Todd (mom) and Jake Thomas (brother). So too
is Adam Lamberg as Lizzie’s teen crush Gordo, who unfortunately had parted ways
with her even after they became an item in 2003’s “Lizzie McGuire Movie.” That
plot thread can also fuel story arcs for the new series, which is expected to
premiere on Disney+ sometime in 2020.
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