Writer Reveals Why Lizzie McGuire Reboot Got Axed
Jonathan Hurwitz was a writer on the planned Lizzie McGuire spin-off for Disney+. Recently, he discussed the reasons behind the show’s cancellation on TikTok. One of the running threads of the show would have been Lizzie’s love life. She would discover that her boyfriend was cheating on her and that her high school best friend Gordo had moved on. Lizzie would then hook up with a high school crush, prompting the offensive scene in question:
“Episode 3 wasn’t filmed, but there was a script for it. Lizzie wakes up in Ethan’s bed, in his water polo t-shirt. And Animated Lizzie pops up and she has this little checklist, like a to-do list, and Ethan is on the list, and she checks it off. I think she says something like, ‘I checked that box –dramatic pause– twice.’ So if I had to guess, I saw another comment about whether certain storylines, [about] why Disney wasn’t comfortable with it. My guess was… that moment was probably one of them.”
And check out Hurwitz’s video here:
I can see why Disney wouldn’t want to go with such a suggestive line of dialogue, although I think the demographic for this show would be older than they seem to think. I don’t know any kids who watch Lizzie McGuire; their audience for a reboot would be people my age who grew up watching the original show on The Disney Channel. Even so, I’m not sure why the line couldn’t have been altered or replaced by a more subtle implication. However, Hurwitz indicates this isn’t the only reason for the cancellation. Hillary Duff’s desire for a more adult show has been cited as clashing with Disney’s plans. But now that they’re adding TV-MA shows to Disney+ anyway, it all seems a bit silly. I don’t think this show would have been great or anything, but the reasons why they canned it are lame.
But what do you think? Let us know in the comments!
