Lizzie McGuire is the Disney Channel show that introduced Hilary Duff to the world. The show is bound to make a comeback through Disney+.
So let’s dive into some more trivia and facts about the show and its success.
- Lizzie McGuire is an American drama comedy television series
- It is created by Terri Minsky
- It premiered on Disney Channel on January 12, 2001
- The series stars Hilary Duff as the title character
- Lizzie McGuire navigates the personal and social issues of her teenage years
- And an animated version of the character, who performs soliloquies to express Lizzie’s inner thoughts and emotions
- The series also stars Lalaine, Adam Lamberg, Jake Thomas, Hallie Todd and Robert Carradine
- The final episode aired on February 14, 2004
- A total of 65 episodes were produced
- The series was nominated for two Emmy Awards in 2003 and 2004 for Most Outstanding Children’s Program
- The pilot received a nomination at the Writers Guild of America Awards for Best Children’s Script
- The series also received various awards and nominations at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards from 2002 to 2005
- A sequel series was announced in August 2019 to be entering production for Disney+
- With Duff reprising her role and Minsky returning as showrunner
- Lamberg, Thomas, Todd and Carradine will also return to the series in their original roles
- The series will be produced in association with Disney Channel
- The series follows Lizzie McGuire, a thirteen year old girl who faces the regular personal and social issues of teenage years alongside her best friends, Miranda and Gordo, at junior high
- Episodes depict Lizzie’s transition into adolescence at home and school
- Including the friends’ rivalry with their classmate, Kate, and affections for Ethan
- Lizzie tries to develop her own identity, but is also attracted to the idea of popularity at school and longs for social acceptance among her peers
- Lizzie shares a close relationship with her family, her mother, Jo, her father, Sam and her younger brother, Matt
- Lizzie’s inner thoughts and emotions are conveyed sporadically in the episodes through her animated persona
- She sometimes speaks directly to the audience
- Fifteen years later, Lizzie is thirty years old and living in an apartment in Brooklyn, New York City
- Lizzie works as an apprentice to a interior decorator, and is engaged a man who owns a restaurant in SoHo, Manhattan
- Lizzie is forced to leave Brooklyn and return to Los Angeles
- In 2000, Hilary Duff was asked to audition for a series on Disney Channel
- Created by Terri Minsky, the series was known by the working title What’s Lizzie Thinking? throughout development
- The series was later retitled Lizzie McGuire, and Duff successfully auditioned for the title character of Lizzie, who was described as a regular teenager
- The premise for the series was based on a script previously written by Minsky, which featured the main character’s inner thoughts and emotions as narration
- Producer Stan Rogow conceived a high-concept version of the script in which an animated version of the character would be featured to convey these thoughts
- This concept became known the “animated Lizzie” persona
- It was also voiced by Duff
- Rogow stated that the visual design of the show was inspired by the film Run Lola Run
- Lalaine’s character Miranda did not appear in the last several episodes of the second season, or The Lizzie McGuire Movie
- Due to Lalaine working on other projects such as the film You Wish!
- Filming of the film and series concluded in December 2002 after 65 episodes were produced
- A standard limit for Disney Channel’s series
- In May 2003, it was revealed that the Lizzie McGuire would end production due to contract disagreements between Duff and Disney
- The company was interested in transitioning the program into a high school-centered series for ABC
- Expanding the franchise with a further film
- While Duff was receiving offers for lucrative roles with other studios
- After the series ended its original run, Disney Channel also considered producing an animated version of the series
- A pilot for a spin-off was produced, entitled What’s Stevie Thinking?
- Which was to center on Miranda’s younger sister
- The series was not picked up
- In 2014, Duff stated that she would be open for a reunion
- In December 2018, stated that there had been discussions about reviving the series
- On August 23, 2019, it was announced at the D23 Expo that Disney was developing a revival television series of Lizzie McGuire
- The series was revealed to be in production for exclusive distribution on the Disney+ streaming service
- With Duff reprising her role as the title character
- Original series creator, Terri Minsky serving as showrunner
- The sequel series will center on Lizzie at the age of thirty
- Navigating life as an apprentice interior decorator in New York City
- It was revealed that the animated alter ego of Lizzie would also appear in the new series
- The series is produced by Salty Pictures in association with Disney Channel as part of an overall deal with Minksy
- Duff also serves as an executive producer
- Alongside Rachel Winter, and co-executive producer Ranada Shepard
- In October 2019, it was announced that Thomas, Todd and Carradine would also return to the series
- Reprising their roles as Matt, Jo and Sam McGuire respectively
- Production on the sequel series began on October 29, 2019 on location in Washington Square Park in New York
- Further filming for the series will take place in Los Angeles
- In November, it was revealed that Federico Dordei would be joining the cast as new character, Dominic Shaw
- And that Lamberg would be reprising his role as Gordo
- The series premiered on Disney Channel on January 12, 2001 following the premiere of the film Zenon: The Zequel
- The series officially premiered on January 19, 2001
- It began airing as part of the ABC Kids Saturday Morning lineup on September 20, 2003
- In 2006, Superstation WGN (now WGN America) acquired the rights to Even Stevens and Lizzie McGuire
- The series was broadcast in Australia on the ABC
- Episodes of the series were distributed on compilation DVD releases in various countries
- Collections of episodes were released in the United States from 2003 to 2004
- A box set containing 22 episodes from the first season, titled “Volume 1”, was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on November 23, 2004
- Further DVD sets with the remaining episodes were later made available in Europe
- The first two seasons of Lizzie McGuire were first made available to stream on Disney+ on November 12, 2019
- In Australia, the original series is available on Stan as part of its distribution deal with the ABC
- A film based on the series, titled The Lizzie McGuire Movie was released by Walt Disney Pictures on May 2, 2003 in the United States
- Set after the conclusion of the series and her middle school graduation
- The film follows Lizzie and her classmates going on a school trip to Rome, Italy
- The movie was filmed on location at Rome, at locations such as the Trevi Fountain
- The film earned $42.7 million at the American box office
- In addition to $12.8 million internationally
- The film grossing a total $55.6 million worldwide
- It received mixed reviews
- With a 41% overall approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes
- Based on 98 reviews
- The website’s critical consensus states it is a “harmless piece of fluff that ought to satisfy fans of the TV show”
- Throughout the early 2000s, the popularity of the series led to merchandise to be released by Disney
- Including a series of novels and books, a Lizzie McGuire character doll, a bedroom set, board games and video games
- Toys were also released through a partnership with McDonald’s in 2004
- Fortune estimated in 2003 that Lizzie McGuire merchandise had earned nearly $100 million
- Two soundtracks for the series were produced
- They were titled “Lizzie McGuire” and “Lizzie McGuire Total Party!”
- The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating for Lizzie McGuire
- With an average audience score of 75%
- Common Sense Media commended the realistic representation of friendship in the series and noted its relatability for both boys and girls
- Reviewing the series’s premiere in 2001, Laura Fries of Variety described the program as “good-natured”, and praised the ability of the writers to include adolescent vernacular and pop culture references
- A review on the DVDizzy blog described early episodes of Lizzie McGuire as “clever, funny, and pretty sincere”, but suggested that the show later suffered from a creative decline in favor of more celebrity guest appearances
- A DVD review by Dove.org in 2003 described the series as “wholesome”, and noted the real world lessons which are presented
- Katie Minard of Entertainment Weekly listed “Picture Day” as the best episode of the series in her 2016 ranking, due to its relatable plot and important moral
- Writing for The Gateway, Ashlynn Chand said that “One of the Guys” teaches young viewers that “femininity and masculinity aren’t so binary”
- Chand also described the Duff and her character as a “style icon” in reference to the fashion of the episode “Last Year’s Model”
Got anything to add?