As more details come out about the axed reboot of Lizzie McGuire, it’s clear that this was going to be what dreams were made of for fans. The hit Disney sitcom starring Hilary Duff in the titular role filmed the first two episodes in early 2020 before Disney canceled the show due to reported issues with the content.
Former writer Jonathan Hurwitz has now shed some light on what that controversial content might have been in a series of new TikTok posts.
Breaking down the series into several different parts, Hurwitz claims Disney had an issue with the sexually suggestive content on the show as well as the idea of Lizzie having a gay roommate, which he claims was “loosely based” on himself.
Hurwitz goes on to share the details of the plot, noting that Lizzie was going to be living in New York City and working as an interior designer. She would have been dating a “handsome chef,” whom she finds out has been “cheating on her with her best friend,” and heads back home to California, to the house that fans of the original show grew up watching.
He also shared that Lizzie went through a rough and relatable breakup moment, posting a picture of Duff sporting bangs.
“In episode two after Lizzie comes home and she’s heartbroken and emotional, she does what anyone would do in that situation, which is put on Ariana Grande and give herself bangs,” Hurwitz quipped.
But when it comes to Lizzie’s love life, that’s where things get interesting. Tragically, her bestie-turned-love-interest, Gordo (Adam Lamberg), is not, in fact, her romantic endgame.
“Gordo reveals that he is engaged to a woman and she’s pregnant and they’re really happy,” Hurwitz said. “So no, in this version, Lizzie and Gordo would not have ended up together.”
However, a man from Lizzie’s past does come back into her life — none other than Ethan Craft (Clayton Snyder).
Hurwitz shared that episode two of the reboot ended with Lizzie getting a text from Ethan, and episode three, which was never filmed was supposed to begin with Lizzie post-coitus.
“Lizzie wakes up in Ethan’s bed in his water polo T-shirt,” Hurwitz revealed. “Animated Lizzie pops up and she has this little checklist, like a to-do list, and Ethan’s on it, and she checks it off. I think she says something like, ‘Well, I checked that box,’ dramatic pause, ‘Twice.'”
Hurwitz noted that while he doesn’t have concrete confirmation, he believes that this moment was what ultimately led to Disney scrapping the show.
In another video, he explained, “We weren’t actually going to show them having — I can’t even say the word — having s-e-x, just Lizzie waking up in Ethan’s shirt and then Ethan comes in with freshly made coffee and they have this cute catchup.”
Hurwitz also revealed what his paycheck was during his brief time working on the show, revealing, “$4,274 a week, can you believe that? Since the show ended four years ago, I’ve barely made $4,000 a month, so I cannot believe that I actually made that much in one week. That is insane to me.”
Lizzie McGuire ran for two seasons from 2001 to 2004 on the Disney Channel.
In 2022, Duff told Women’s Health of the failed reboot, “She had to be 30 years old doing 30-year-old things. She didn’t need to be doing bong rips and having one-night stands all the time, but it had to be authentic. I think [the network] got spooked.”
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