Lizzie McGuire

• Hilary Duff as Elizabeth "Lizzie" McGuire, a shy and clumsy girl with a talent for rhythmic gymnastics, who tries to find her place in the world and become popular. Her inner thoughts and emotions are expressed through the soliloquies of an animated version of herself.
• Lalaine as Miranda Sanchez, Lizzie's confident best friend, who enjoys singing and dreams of being a musician.
• Adam Lamberg as David "Gordo" Gordon, Lizzie's childhood best friend, who has a passion in filmmaking and playing hacky sack. He later becomes attracted to Lizzie.
• Jake Thomas as Matthew "Matt" McGuire, Lizzie's younger brother, who regularly develops schemes to create trouble around the house. He and Lizzie bicker, but deeply care about each other.
• Hallie Todd as Joanne "Jo" McGuire, Lizzie's mother, who sometimes struggles with the pressure of raising a teenager.
• Robert Carradine as Samuel "Sam" McGuire, Lizzie's father, who sometimes struggles with the pressure of raising a teenager and is a bit slow-minded.

• Ashlie Brillault as Katherine "Kate" Sanders, a popular girl at school who was formerly the best friend of Lizzie and Miranda; she is now their frenemy.
• Clayton Snyder as Ethan Craft, who is friendly and popular, and whom Lizzie, Miranda and Kate hope to date.
• Kyle Downes as Lawrence "Larry" Tudgeman III, a stereotypical geek who is treated like an outcast at school. He likes Miranda.
• Davida Williams as Claire Miller, Kate's new best friend who is jealous of the friendship which Kate had with Lizzie and Miranda.
• Christian Copelin as Lanny Onasis, Matt's best friend, who does not speak.
• Carly Schroeder as Melina Bianco, Matt's best friend, who likes to create trouble for him.
• Arvie Lowe Jr. as Digby "Mr. Dig" Sellers, Lizzie's laid-back substitute teacher whom she perceives as cool.

In 2000, Hilary Duff was asked to audition for a series on Disney Channel.[4] Created by Terri Minsky, the series was known by the working title What's Lizzie Thinking? throughout development.[4][5][6] The series was later retitled Lizzie McGuire, and Duff successfully auditioned for the title character of Lizzie, who was described as a regular teenager.[4][5] 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.[7] 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.[7][8] 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.[7]

Lalaine's character Miranda did not appear in the last several episodes of the second season, or The Lizzie McGuire Movie, due to Lalaine working on other projects such as You Wish!.[9] Filming of the movie and series concluded in December 2002 after 65 episodes were produced; a standard limit for Disney Channel's series.[10][11]

In May 2003, it was revealed that the Lizzie McGuire would end production due to contract disagreements between Duff and Disney.[10][12] The company was interested in transitioning the program into a high school-centered series for ABC and expanding the franchise with a further film, while Duff was receiving offers for lucrative roles with other studios.[10][12] After the series ended its original run, Disney Channel also considered producing an animated version of the series.[10] In November 2004, a pilot for an intended spin-off was ordered, entitled Stevie Sanchez, which was to center on Miranda's younger sister and her Latino family.[11] 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.[11] It was to star LaLaine and be produced by Minsky and Rogow.[11] The pilot was produced in 2005, but the series was not picked up in favor of Disney choosing Hannah Montana.[11][13] 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.[14][15]

On August 23, 2019, it was announced at the D23 Expo that Disney was developing a revival television series of Lizzie McGuire.[16][17][18] 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; and original series creator, Terri Minsky serving as showrunner.[16][17][18] The sequel series would have centered 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, and being engaged to a man who owns a restaurant in SoHo, Manhattan.[16][17][19][20] Lizzie would be forced to leave Brooklyn and return to Los Angeles after receiving significant news.[20][21] It was revealed that the animated alter ego of Lizzie would also have appeared in the series.[17] The series was to be produced by Salty Pictures in association with Disney Channel as part of an overall deal with Minsky.[16][19] Duff was to serve as an executive producer, alongside Rachel Winter, and co-executive producer Ranada Shepard.[19] 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.[22] Production on the sequel series began on October 29, 2019 on location in Washington Square Park in New York.[23] Further filming for the series would have taken place in Los Angeles.[24] 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.[19][24][25]

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.[26] 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 canceled.[26][27] In February 2020, Duff hinted on social media that production had stopped because the series was not thought "family-friendly" enough by Disney+ executives.[27] Disney reaffirmed that the development of the series was ongoing and that a new showrunner had not yet been decided.[27] 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.[28] The Hollywood Reporter stated that the first episode's script featured references to sex and involved cheating as a central plot point.[29][21] It was reported in April that Minsky was in contact with the writers of the series, and Duff was still in talks with Disney,[30] however, in December 2020, Duff announced that the revival was officially canceled.[3]

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.[5][6] On September 15, 2001, Lizzie McGuire began airing in reruns on ABC as part of the Disney's One Saturday Morning lineup.[31] On September 14, 2002, the series continued airing as part of the relaunched ABC Kids lineup which replaced Disney's One Saturday Morning.[32]

In 2006, Superstation WGN acquired the rights to Even Stevens and Lizzie McGuire.[33][34] The series was broadcast in Australia on the ABC.[35]

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.[36]

A film based on the series, titled The Lizzie McGuire Movie was released by Walt Disney Pictures on May 2, 2003, in the United States.[37] Set after the conclusion of the series and her middle school graduation, the film follows Lizzie and her classmates going on a school trip to Rome, Italy.[38] The movie was filmed on location at Rome, at locations such as the Trevi Fountain.[38] The film earned $42.7 million at the American box office, in addition to $12.8 million internationally, for a total of $55.6 million worldwide.[18][39] It received mixed reviews, with a 41% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 99 reviews. The website's critical consensus states it is a "harmless piece of fluff that ought to satisfy fans of the TV show".[40]

Throughout the early 2000s, the popularity of the series led to merchandise to be released by Disney, including a series of novels and books, 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.[41] Two soundtracks for the series were produced; Lizzie McGuire and Lizzie McGuire Total Party!.

On Rotten Tomatoes, Lizzie McGuire has an approval rating of 100% based on reviews from 5 critics.[42][43] Common Sense Media commended the realistic representation of friendship in the series and noted its relatability for both boys and girls.[44] Reviewing the series's 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.[5] 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 favor of more celebrity guest appearances.[8] A DVD review by Dove.org in 2003 described the series as "wholesome", and noted the real world lessons which are presented.[45]

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.[46] Writing for The Gateway, Ashlynn Chand said that "One of the Guys" teaches young viewers that "femininity and masculinity aren't so binary".[47] Chand also described the Duff and her character as a "style icon" in reference to the fashion of the episode "Last Year's Model".[47]