‘Lizzie McGuire’ Cast Reunites for Virtual Table Read for Charity (Watch)
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The cast of “Lizzie McGuire” has finally reunited –- though not for the much-anticipated series reboot.
Instead, Hilary Duff surprised fans by posting a Zoom table read to Instagram TV. The cast — including Jake Thomas as Lizzie’s little brother Matthew, Adam Lamberg as Gordo, Lalaine as Miranda and Hallie Todd and Robert Carradine as Lizzie’s parents — performed “Between a Rock and a Bra Place” to mark the episode’s 19th anniversary.
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“We could not stop laughing reading lines from tween us,” Duff wrote in her caption. “This is the first time we were all ‘together-ish’ in almost 18 years!”
It’s been almost two decades since the show’s first episode. The formerly teenage cast is all grown up, and Lamberg and Thomas both sport mustaches.
Before the table read began, Duff explained how the virtual reunion came to be.
“I got the most amazing phone call last week from Jake Thomas,” Duff said. “He threw out having a virtual table read of one of our old episodes of ‘Lizzie McGuire,’ and I thought there’s no better way to cure boredom and to provide a little bit of entertainment for everyone who’s stuck at home.”
The cast also made sure the event was for a good cause, suggesting that fans donate to Frontline Responders Fund, No Kid Hungry, Baby2Baby, Support and Feed, L.A. Food Bank and New York Food Bank to help in the fight against COVID-19.
The table read featured a few special guests: Nina and Jeremy Bargiel, the brother-sister duo who wrote the episode, and Bob Thomas, Jake Thomas’ father and ‘Lizzie McGuire’ writer, whom they brought on to narrate the episode.
Before starting, the Bargiels detailed the genesis of “Between a Rock and a Bra Place,” an episode which was controversial for Disney Channel at the time because of its bra-centric storyline.
“It was the sort of thing where it was like, ‘Could we do this? Could we write about bras on the Disney Channel?'” Nina Bargiel said.
“When the network asked us about this, there were raised eyebrows,” Jeremy Bargiel added. “They were like, ‘You can say the word twice, you can’t ever show one.’ It was definitely something they thought would just go away.”
The dilemma doesn’t seem too far off from the recent drama revolving the “Lizzie McGuire” reboot that was supposed to begin production this year. Originally slated to air on Disney Plus, the revival was halted in January after original series creator and showrunner Terri Minsky was fired from the project.
Since then, Duff has hinted that the hiatus may have been because the reboot’s material wasn’t family-friendly enough. Sources say that the revival show is still looking for a writer and showrunner to take over from Minsky.
Despite the reboot drama, the table read was full of laughs and old memories, with the cast even delivering an off-kilter, yet charming rendition of the show’s theme song.
Watch the full table read below.
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