Hilary Duff has issued a statement about the planned revival of “Lizzie McGuire” asking for it to be moved from the Disney+ streaming service to Hulu.
The statement follows in the wake of a Variety report in recent days that creator and revival showrunner Terri Minsky has been removed from that role on the show due to creative differences and production on the rebooted series has been on hold since January.
Essentially both Duff and Minsky want to do a more adult version of ‘Lizzie’ for the revival, while Disney wants a series that would appeal to kids and families like the original series. Disney was initially on board with Minsky and Duff’s take, but after the first two episodes were completed the company has decided to move in a different direction.
Duff remained quiet about the problems until late Tuesday night highlighting a story earlier this week which saw the series “Love, Victor” (the TV series spin-off of “Love, Simon”) being moved from Disney+ to Hulu after being deemed “not family-friendly enough” even as those involved say the show doesn’t have any content that could be deemed ‘adult’.
In her new statement on Instagram, Duff goes further into her wishes for the revival saying:
“Was incredibly excited to launch ‘Lizzie’ on D+ and my passion remains! However, I feel a huge responsibility to honor the fans’ relationship with LIZZIE who, like me, grew up seeing themselves in her. 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.”
All this has understandably raised serious questions as to what kind of programming is ‘appropriate’ for Disney+ considering it boasts films with content far more objectionable than anything likely to show up on the new “Lizzie McGuire”.
