'Lizzie McGuire' Sequel Series Starring Hilary Duff Coming To Disney+

Hey now, hey now. Disney+ is slowly becoming what dreams are made of. Disney announced that a Lizzie McGuire sequel series is in the works for Disney+, with Hilary Duff set to reprise her role as the wisecracking teen with a cartoon persona. But this time, she's all grown up.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that a new Lizzie McGuire series is coming to Disney+, with Hilary Duff attached to star. Original series creator Terri Minsky is attached to serve as showrunner on the live-action scripted comedy, which will revolve around Lizzie as a "30-year-old millennial navigating life in New York City."

McGuire made a surprise appearance at Disney's D23 Expo to announce the series, which follows an "older and wiser" Lizzie McGuire, albeit one that still battles with her animated alter ego in her head. Working as an apprentice for a New York City decorator, Lizzie has a "dream boyfriend," a "bigger shoe budget," and is ready to celebrate her 30th birthday. The series sounds very Sex in the City meets every struggling millennial in New York series, but with the fun animated alter ego twist. Though I wonder where the conflict will be if Lizzie has such a perfect life? Perhaps it's in her animated persona, or it's in the "thousands of actresses" auditioned for a mystery role.

The original Disney Channel comedy aired from 2001 to 2004 and followed 13-year-old Lizzie McGuire as she pursued her dreams of becoming popular at school. The fun twist was that her travails were often commented on by an animated alter ego, who would frequently break the fourth wall with witty retorts. Here is the synopsis of the original series below:

Enter the world of Lizzie McGuire at your own risk, a world where the 13-year-old and her best friends Miranda and Gordo ride the roller-coaster existence of a middle schooler. Every day is a popularity contest, every class is a crisis and on top of everything else, Lizzie has to deal with her annoying little brother, Matt, and a mom who means well despite her nosey tendencies. You always know what Lizzie is thinking, and if she can't quite say it, you can be sure her animated alter ego will.

The series was beloved for its realistic, albeit exaggerated,  depictions of teenagedom, and many millennial girls growing up in the early 2000s (myself included) greatly connected to Lizzie. It drove the original Lizzie McGuire to be a mega-hit for Disney Channel, spawning soundtracks, books, apparel and an all-time classic feature film, The Lizzie McGuire Movie.

This isn't the first time Duff, who currently stars on TV Land comedy Younger, had been in talks to reprise her beloved role. There was chatter about continuing Lizzie McGuire in a new ABC primetime scripted series, but talks between Duff and Disney stalled. But Duff has always shown an affection for the character, and her taking up the role again as a 30-something struggling in New York comes at a perfect time for her nostalgic audience to relate to her once again.