Lizzie McGuire

**Lizzie McGuire** is a live-action television series created by Terri Minsky. The series premiered on January 12, 2001 and aired for two seasons until February 14, 2004.

## Plot

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, who sometimes speaks directly to the audience.

## Episodes

See Also: List of Lizzie McGuire Episodes

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## Cast and Characters

### Main

* Hilary Duff as Elizabeth "Lizzie" McGuire
* Lalaine as Miranda Sanchez
* Adam Lamberg as David "Gordo" Gordon
* Jake Thomas as Matthew "Matt" McGuire
* Hallie Todd as Joanne "Jo" McGuire
* Robert Carradine as Samuel "Sam" McGuire

### Recurring

* Ashlie Brillault as Katherine "Kate" Sanders
* Clayton Snyder as Ethan Craft
* Kyle Downes as Lawrence "Larry" Tudgeman III
* Davida Williams as Claire Miller
* Christian Copelin as Lanny Onasis
* Carly Schroeder as Melina Bianco
* Arvie Lowe Jr. as Digby "Mr. Dig" Sellers
* Rachel Snow as Veruca Albano
* Haylie Duff as Amy Sanders

### Guest Stars

* David Carradine as Himself
* Aaron Carter as Himself
* Kyla Pratt as Brooke
* Phill Lewis as Principal Tweedy
* Amy Castle as Andie
* Frankie Muniz as Himself
* Doris Roberts as Gordo's Grandmother

## Music

* Lizzie McGuire
* Lizzie McGuire: Total Party!

## Production

### Development

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; and was also voiced by Duff. Rogow stated that the visual design of the show was inspired by the film Run Lola Run.

In July 2001, a second season of 22 episodes were ordered, to begin production in September and air in 2002. Lalaine's character Miranda did not appear in the last 6 episodes filmed for the second season, or The Lizzie McGuire Movie, due to Lalaine leaving the series early to work on other projects such as You Wish!. and Radio Disney Concert Tours. Filming of the movie and series concluded in December 2002 after 65 episodes were produced; a standard limit for Disney Channel's series.

### Cancelled Spin-offs

In May 2003, it was revealed that 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-centred series for ABC and 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. In November 2004, a pilot for an intended spin-off was ordered, entitled Stevie Sanchez, which was to centre on Miranda's younger sister and her Latino family. The series would follow the 12-year-old central character, who was played in the pilot by Selena Gomez, and would also feature an animated version of the character like Lizzie. It was to star LaLaine and be produced by Minsky and Rogow. The pilot was produced in 2005, but the series was not picked up in favour of Disney choosing Hannah Montana.

### Cancelled Revival

In 2014, Duff stated that she would be open for a reunion, and 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; the original series creator, Terri Minsky, planned to serve as the reboot's showrunner. The sequel series would have centred on Lizzie at the age of thirty, navigating life as an apprentice to an interior decorator, while living in an apartment in Brooklyn, New York City, engaged to a man who owns a restaurant in SoHo, Manhattan. When she discovers him cheating on her, she returns home to Los Angeles. It was revealed that the animated alter ego of Lizzie would also have appeared in the series. The series was to be produced by Salty Pictures in association with Disney Channel as part of an overall deal with Minsky. Duff was to serve 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 would have taken 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.

Minsky departed as the showrunner of the revival in January 2020 after the first two episodes of the series had been filmed, due to creative differences with Disney. Production of the series was placed on a hiatus and delayed until a new showrunner would be decided, with speculation that Minsky had been fired and the series would be cancelled. In February 2020, Duff hinted on social media that production had stopped because the series was not thought "family-friendly" enough by Disney+ executives. Disney reaffirmed that the development of the series was ongoing and that a new showrunner had not yet been decided. Duff later posted a statement publicly pleading for Disney+ to move the series to Hulu as had been done with Love, Victor and High Fidelity, stating that it would allow the series to fully represent the life of a thirty-year-old without the constraints of a "family friendly" classification. The Hollywood Reporter stated that the first episode's script featured references to sex and involved cheating as a central plot point. It was reported in April that Minsky was in contact with the writers of the series, and Duff was still in talks with Disney; however, in December 2020, Duff announced that the revival was officially cancelled.

## Release

The series premiered on Disney Channel on January 12, 2001, as a special sneak preview, following the premiere of the film Zenon: The Zequel. The series officially premiered on January 19, 2001. Lizzie McGuire was scheduled to begin airing in reruns on ABC as part of Disney's One Saturday Morning on September 15, 2001. On September 14, 2002, Disney's One Saturday Morning was rebranded as ABC Kids, where Lizzie McGuire continued airing until September 10, 2005 when it was removed from the line-up.

In 2006, Superstation WGN acquired the rights to Even Stevens and Lizzie McGuire. The series was broadcast in Australia on the ABC.

### Home Media

A DVD box set containing 22 episodes from the first season, titled "Volume 1", was released by Walt Disney Home Entertainment on November 23, 2004.

## Reception

### Critical Response

On Rotten Tomatoes, Lizzie McGuire has an approval rating of 100% based on reviews from 5 critics. Common Sense Media commended the realistic representation of friendship in the series and noted its relatability for both boys and girls. Reviewing the series' 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 favour 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 Duff and her character as a "style icon" in reference to the fashion of the episode "Last Year's Model".

## Merchandise

Throughout the early 2000s, the popularity of the series led to merchandise to be released by Disney, including a series of books and comics, 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; Lizzie McGuire and Lizzie McGuire Total Party!.