Welcome back, outfit repeaters! Lizzie McGuire is officially returning in a revival series, set to premiere on Disney+ next year. Hilary Duff returns as lead Lizzie McGuire, along with Hallie Todd and Robert Carradine as Lizzie’s parents Jo and Sam, respectively and Jake Thomas as her annoying little brother, Matthew McGuire.
The new series will pick up just before Lizzie’s 30th birthday. “She seemingly has it all – her dream job as an assistant to a fancy New York City decorator, her dream guy and a picturesque Brooklyn apartment – but things aren’t always as they seem,” the synopsis revealed. “With a little help from her friends, her loving family and her 13-year-old alter-ego in animated form, Lizzie navigates the ups and downs of adulthood.”
The series began filming on October 29 in New York City — and it was a lot of work, Duff admitted in an exclusive interview with Us Weekly.
“I have to give [Younger‘s] Sutton Foster a lot of credit because I forgot what it’s like to be the absolute star of the show when you’re in every single scene and every single storyline,” she told Us. “You don’t have a free minute all day long. I thought I was busy with Kelsey but this is on a whole other level. … B it’s a dream come true. I’m also executive producing so that’s really exciting!”
The singer also noted that adult Lizzie is not at all like fans remember her from her junior high days. “I think it’s going to be a really good mix of giving everyone what they want from the show in the past, and also a new fresh show and her at 30, which looks completely different,” she said. “I feel so connected to her.”
That said, Duff didn’t always believe the show would come back, despite multiple pitches and meetings over the years “I loved that character, obviously, and there were times when I never wanted to hear her name again,” she admitted. “Then there were times when I was extremely grateful for the experience, having her in my life just like everybody else had her and for all of the opportunities that it created for me. After meeting with Disney on multiple occasions about possibly bringing it back, finally, the story line felt right.”
Scroll through the gallery below for photos from filming.