Bridgit Mendler previously led the cast of Good luck Charlie and had a lucrative post-Disney Channel career, with a dash of narrative irony. The beloved family comedy stands up to Disney Channel's best original TV shows, portraying Mendler's Teddy Duncan and his family after the unexpected birth of their fourth child. The hook of the series is that Teddy embarks on a project to record a video diary of advice for his younger sister, Charlie (Mia Talerico), with the help of his brothers Gabe (Bradley Steven Perry) and PJ (Jason Dolley).
A recent reunion between some of the Good luck Charlie released at Twitch streamer Kai Cenat's "Mafiathon 2" event did not include Mendler, despite his prominence in the series (via People). About that, other actors who have starred Good luck Charliecontemporary TV shows are only getting bigger, including names like Zendaya and Zac Efron. Mendler undoubtedly could have been one of Disney Channel's best stars, but her career took her away from acting, in a way that surprisingly resonates with her. Good luck Charlie character.
Teddy Duncan was always a dedicated student on Good Luck Charlie
Teddy's commitment to her studies provided good luck comedy to Charlie and landed her at an Ivy League school
Teddy has always been the most studious member of the Duncan family, his intense dedication to studies and sometimes exaggerated perfectionism serving as the backbone of certain comic situations. Some of her character's craziest episodes include her panicking after receiving a B on a report and searching all over town for a place to study for a final when her house is too noisy. This is his basic character trait, compared to PJ as the well-meaning but "dumb" child and Gabe as the resident troublemaker.
Several Disney Channel series had foregone conclusions (Miley reveals herself as Hannah Montana, the competition to be the family wizard finally takes place, etc.) and for Good luck Charlieit was Teddy going to college. At the end of the series, Teddy is accepted into Yale University equivalent to winning the lottery in real life. Teddy ends her series of video diaries and leaves Denver for New Haven, happily rewarded for her hard work and being used as a punchline for the show.
Since Good Luck Charlie, Bridgit Mendler has graduated from two prestigious universities
Mendler acted for a while longer before focusing on his studies and his start-up
After Good luck Charlie ended in 2014, Mendler did some additional limited acting work, including several small TV roles. Perhaps the biggest show she has been on in recent years is nashvillefor which she played Ashley Willerman in two 2017 episodes. She also voiced Arietty in the English-language version of the Studio Ghibli film. Arietty's secret world before the end of the Disney Channel show, and later produced several music videos. However, Mendler's last acting credit was in 2019 for Happy happy whateverbefore embarking on a career much more similar to Teddy's.
Mendler graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2020 and Harvard University in 2024, before launching his tech startup Northwood Space (via J-14). These impressive achievements now appear to be her main focus and would have made her Good luck Charlie proud character. Teddy's course at Yale is not confirmed in Good luck Charliebut she demonstrates an aptitude for almost all subjects and could also have chosen to do STEM-focused research. Disney Channel fans may miss Mendler, but she is undoubtedly doing great things.
Bridgit Mendler's retirement from acting has implications for Disney's revival, plus good luck, Charlie
Mendler probably won't return to Good Luck Charlie or Waverly Place
Discussions about a potential Good luck Charlie reboot, following in the footsteps of other Disney Channel revivals, generally attracts Bridgit Mendler as the cast member least likely to return, which would be a problem when Teddy is essentially the original's main character. However, Mendler's apparent retirement from acting has implications for another series. In another hit Disney show, Wizards of Waverly Place, Mendler had a recurring role as series regular Justin Russo's vampire girlfriend Julietplayed by David Henrie. Justin is now married to someone else in the sequel series Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.
However, there is still speculation about whether Juliet will ever appear in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place. This could benefit the series enormously: fans want to know what happened to her and why she and Justin broke up, her presence would cause tension with Justin's wife, and her vampire status would lead to more fantasy shenanigans. However, Mendler has not publicly shown interest in doing so and has not acted in years. Mendler once carried weight as a star of several Disney Channel characters, which now has implications for continuities beyond Good luck Charlie.