The planned Lizzie McGuire revival show didn’t move forward on Disney+, and Hulu’s How I Met Your Father proves the Hilary Duff-led reboot was a missed opportunity for Disney. Duff stars as the new central character, Sophie, for the standalone sequel to the long-running sitcom How I Met Your Mother. The actress, who rose to stardom in the early 2000s due to her work on the Disney Channel, was cast in How I Met Your Father after her availability opened when the plans for Lizzie McGuire’s revival were scrapped.
Lizzie McGuire originally aired on the Disney Channel from 2001 to 2004, serving as a core program in that span. The popularity also spawned a feature film, The Lizzie McGuire Movie, in 2003, which performed relatively well at the box office. Still, the series came to an end with Duff’s character, and the rest of the core cast graduated from junior high. With Disney+ building up its original programming in 2019, there was an announcement that Disney decided to revive the series with Duff back in the role as Lizzie alongside other returning core characters. Terri Minsky, who created the original series, was also on board to guide the sequel series set to follow Lizzie McGuire turning 30 while returning to California after spending time living in New York City. However, Minsky left the revival stemming from creative differences with Disney and what they considered brand-friendly for the streaming service. This led to a domino effect, essentially resulting in the Lizzie McGuire revival being scrapped.
Those who grew up with Lizzie McGuire and classic Disney Channel shows were crushed with the turn of events, especially after Disney+ heavily teased the reboot as part of their upcoming slate of programming. The push to move the Lizzie McGuire show to Disney-owned Hulu also failed, despite support from Duff. Instead, the cast moved to other projects highlighted by Duff’s casting in How I Met Your Father. Duff doesn’t think Lizzie McGuire is completely dead for now, but she owes the current cancellation to her How I Met Your Father role. The series follows a similar formula used by How I Met Your Mother, which is far different than what Lizzie McGuire was advertised to be. Still, the early episodes of How I Met Your Father prove that Disney missed a chance at bringing back a beloved character in an effort to represent the growth and maturity of former viewers of the original.
Coincidentally, How I Met Your Father shares many similarities with what the Lizzie McGuire revival planned to cover: Duff’s character in New York while on the verge of a new chapter in her life. In many ways, Sophie even shares traits that the young Lizzie often exhibited. Lizzie was quirky, but she believed in herself, and the same can be seen in Sophie in just the first few episodes of How I Met Your Father as the series establishes Sophie’s love struggles. She finds herself in tough situations, but with the help of her friends, she always powers through. Additionally, Duff seems highly capable of carrying another series with her signature charm. Even if Disney+ couldn’t depict aspects of adult Lizzie’s life due to content restrictions, there should have been more consideration in airing on Hulu.
Granted, Hulu won in the end by becoming the home of How I Met Your Father, so they still got their Hilary Duff-led series. However, the existence of the show will always be tied to CBS’s How I Met Your Mother rather than Lizzie McGuire. If Disney+ or Hulu had followed through with the Lizzie McGuire series, it could have grabbed the attention of former Disney Channel fans who are now in their twenties, thirties, and beyond who would have been interested in nostalgic content put through a more mature lens, watching a familiar character go through real-life struggles. The show’s existence could have also opened the door for other classic material expanded in the same fashion. Disney might be able to claim How I Met Your Father with it being on Hulu, but they won’t be able to take full credit if the series follows in the footsteps of How I Met Your Mother‘s success. In that case, it could be too late for Lizzie McGuire.
New episodes of How I Met Your Father arrive Tuesdays on Hulu.
