Over the years, Disney fans have rightfully earned a reputation for lamenting closed and canceled attractions, rides, and theme park lands. Turns out that extends to TV shows as well.
HILARY DUFF, ADAM LAMBERG
From Disney Channel classics and animated film spin-offs to streaming-era revivals and Disney+ exclusives, we really wish these shows would return, if only to finish on their own terms!
Lizzie McGuire Reboot
Let’s begin with the show on top of most millennials’ lists: The Lizzie McGuire reboot. Back in 2019, Disney announced that the Terri Minsky-created series was going to return for a Disney+ continuation, with numerous cast members, including star Hilary Duff, returning.
At the time, the new series was confirmed to follow Lizzie as “a 30-year-old millennial navigating life in New York City. Like the original series, it will include the familiar animated version of a young Lizzie who offers up funny, revealing commentary on what 30-year-old Lizzie is really thinking.”
However, only months after production had begun, the show was abruptly shut down and then canceled. Disney said at the time, “Lizzie McGuire fans have high expectations for any new stories. Unless and until we are confident we can meet those expectations, we’ve decided to hold off, and today, we informed the cast’s representatives that we are not moving forward with the planned series.”
However, Duff would release her own statement, saying in part, “I’d be doing a disservice to everyone by limiting the realities of a 30-year-old’s journey to live under the ceiling of a PG rating. It’s important to me that just as her experiences as a preteen/teenager navigating life were authentic, her next chapters are equally as real and relatable. It would be a dream if Disney would let us move the show to Hulu, if they were interested, and I could bring this beloved character to life again.”
Willow
Speaking of early Disney+ announcements, another of the service’s more hyped shows early on was Willow, a sequel series to the cult classic 1988 film of the same name. The 8-episode series premiered to much fanfare in 2022, but even with the return of star Warwick Davis, the series was canceled after one season, even though a second was written and ready to film. To add insult to injury, the entire series was removed from Disney+ in 2023, leaving it unavailable to fans.
Girl Meets World
Years before streaming service providers went all in on legacy sequels, Disney Channel had one of the first with Girl Meets World. The series, which served as a follow-up to the 1990s classic seven-season sitcom Boy Meets World, featured Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel returning as Cory and Topanga to raise their daughter Riley (Rowan Blanchard) as she charts her life with best friend Maya (Sabrina Carpenter). The show, which featured a large cast of its own as well as scattered appearances by other Boy Meets World veterans, was popular but ended after only 3 seasons.
Fans of both shows lamented the end of the series, wishing to follow the characters to high school and beyond like the original series. However, that wasn’t to be, and given Carpenter’s rise to mega-star pop icon status, it’s likely never happening.
Andor
So, Andor wasn’t technically “canceled.” However, the critically acclaimed Star Wars series was originally planned to be a five-season series, it was eventually cut down to two seasons. Considering many fans and critics think the series is the best Star Wars media since at least 1980, many now lament the show’s run being shortened.
Team Atlantis
Disney had big plans for 2001’s Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Imagineers planned to retheme Disneyland’s then-shuttered Submarine Voyage into an adventure based on the steampunk-themed film, while the Team Atlantis spinoff television series was already in production when the film was released.
However, Atlantis bombed at the box office, leading to the scuttling of these projects. Work on the ride halted, and production on the series ended. The episodes that were completed were stitched together into a direct-to-video sequel, Atlantis: Milo’s Return.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer Hulu Reboot
Finally, we have Buffy. In 2025, Sarah Michelle Gellar – who starred as the titular heroine in the massively acclaimed and influential Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, which aired from 1997 to 2003 and was acquired by Disney during the 20th Century Fox purchase — announced that she was returning for a reboot on Hulu. Over the next year, Gellar excitedly spoke about the project, in which her character would serve as a mentor to a younger Slayer, promising it would confront modern issues while also bringing back classic characters.
However, in February 2026, Gellar ruefully announced that the series was not moving forward. A war of words between Gellar and Hulu executives erupted in the press, seemingly putting a final stake in the series’ heart. Grr, Arrgh indeed.
These are just some of the cancelled Disney series I would LOVE to see return. Stay tuned to AllEars for more takes on Disney’s entertainment empire.
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What Disney series would you like to see return? Let us know in the comments below.
I loved Buffy. So sad that Anthony Head died last week.