A spinoff of Hilary Duff comedy “Younger” is in early development with creator Darren Star at ViacomCBS, a source tells Variety.
The TVLand half hour, starring Duff and Sutton Foster, is entering its seventh season, making it the cable network’s longest-running original scripted series. The show, which initially centered on Foster’s Liza Miller, a 40-year-old divorcee posing as a millennial in order to return to the book publishing industry, revolves around the friendship between Duff and Foster’s characters as they navigate their careers and relationships. Duff stars as editor Kelsey Peters.
The series was created, written and executive produced by Star. Last year, “Younger” ranked as the top cable comedy among women 18-49 and women 25-54.; TVLand said that the Season 6 premiere last June was its highest-rated season premiere ever among viewers aged 25-54 and women 25-54.
A TVLand spokesperson declined to comment on the development moves. The yet-unwritten pilot for the “Younger” spinoff does not currently have a network attached. The Hollywood Reporter first reported the “Younger” move.
Duff was most recently working on the Disney Plus revival of “Lizzie McGuire.” As Variety previously reported exclusively, production of the series ground to a halt in January after the creator of the original Disney Channel show, Terri Minsky, was abruptly taken off the series after just two episodes were completed. In February, Duff took to Instagram to publicly lobby for Disney to allow the “Lizzie McGuire” revival to move from Disney Plus to Hulu, Disney’s more adult-oriented streaming service, so that the show could pursue more grownup story lines.