High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is an American mockumentary musical drama television series created for Disney+ by Tim Federle, inspired by the "High School Musical" film series. The series is produced by Chorus Boy and Salty Pictures in association with Disney Channel, with Oliver Goldstick serving as showrunner for the first four episodes. He was succeeded by Federle as showrunner for the remainder of the first season and thereafter. Set at a fictionalized version of East High School, the school at which the original movie was filmed, the series follows a  group of teenage theater enthusiasts who participate in a staging of "High School Musical: The Musical" as their school production. The series stars Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett, Matt Cornett, Sofia Wylie, Larry Saperstein, Julia Lester, Dara Reneé, Frankie Rodriguez, Mark St. Cyr, Kate Reinders and Joe Serafini. "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" premiered on Disney Channel, ABC, and Freeform as a preview simulcast on November 8, 2019, ahead of its launch on Disney+ on November 12; its first season consisted of 10 episodes. In October 2019, before the series debuted, Disney+ renewed the series for a second season , which premiered on May 14, 2021, and consisted of 12 episodes. The series was renewed for a third season in September 2021, which is expected to be released in 2022. The series has been positively received, with critical reviews highlighting the performances of the cast, particularly those of Bassett and Rodrigo. It won a GLAAD Media Award in 2020 for Outstanding Kids & Family Programming. Premise. At a fictionalized version of East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah, where the "High School Musical" movies were filmed, a former background cast member, Miss Jenn, begins work as the new drama teacher . The teacher decides to stage a performance of "High School Musical: The Musical" for her first winter theater production to celebrate the school's affiliation with the original film. The students cast in the musical learn to navigate their interpersonal relationships and form bonds with each other, to overcome the challenges they face in their lives at school and home. In the second season, the theater students of East High stage a production of "Beauty and the Beast" for the spring musical. Miss Jenn leads the cast in an attempt to win a prestigious local student theater competition while facing  off against their rival school, North High. The third season is set outside of the school year and will feature the students attending a summer theater camp in California, called Camp Shallow Lake. The campers prepare to stage a production of "Frozen". Production. Development. On November 9, 2017, it was announced that Disney was developing a television series adaptation of their "High School Musical" film series created by Peter Barsocchini. The series was expected to premiere on Disney's then-unnamed upcoming streaming service. The company had planned to adapt the franchise for television and approached creator Tim Federle to  develop an idea for a series. Federle pitched the documentary-style series in January 2018 and went on to draft the pilot together with Disney Channel, who contributed to the production of the series. On May 30, 2018, it was announced that Federle would serve as a writer and executive producer for the series. On September 6, Disney officially gave the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. Oliver Goldstick was expected to serve as showrunner and an additional executive producer while Julie Ashton would oversee the casting process. Alongside this announcement, it was also  revealed that the show would be of the mockumentary genre and a list of character names and descriptions was released. By May 2019, Goldstick had departed the series over "creative differences", having served as showrunner for the first four episodes. In October 2019, ahead of the release of the first season, Disney+ renewed the series for a second season. Federle stated that the second season's plot would not revolve around a production of "High School Musical 2"; it was revealed in February 2020 that the featured production would be "Beauty and the Beast". The second season consisted of twelve  episodes. On September 13, 2021, Disney+ renewed the series for a third season. For its third season, production of the series will relocate from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles; the story will be set at a sleep-away theater camp and take place over the summer school break. It was teased in November that the featured production would be "Frozen", which was confirmed in January 2022. The season will also feature music from the Disney Channel film "Camp Rock" in addition to the "High School Musical" franchise. Writing. Federle drew inspiration for the mockumentary style of the series from  other films and programs such as "Waiting for Guffman" and "The Office". He was inspired to create a series that depicted music as a central theme, while also drawing on his experience as a former Broadway performer. The series is inclusive of LGBTQ representation, with two gay characters featured: Carlos and Seb. In an interview with "The Advocate", Frankie Rodriguez credited Federle for writing his character Carlos as gay without drawing on the tropes of a typical queer character. The character Seb plays the role of Sharpay in the musical, an example of non-traditional gender casting. The series begins  the exploration of a same-sex relationship when Carlos asks Seb to the school dance in the episode "Homecoming". The series also depicts same-sex parenting through Nini's two mothers Carol and Dana. In addition to this representation, the series includes themes such as divorce. Casting. Federle expressed the importance of casting real teenagers in main roles to add authenticity to the high school-based series. On October 17, 2018, it was announced that Joshua Bassett had been cast in a leading role. The rest of the cast was announced on February 15, 2019, including Sofia Wylie as Gina , Kate Reinders as Miss Jenn, and Olivia Rodrigo as Nini. Federle confirmed in November 2019 that an unnamed cast member from the original film would make a cameo appearance through a fantasy sequence. After being listed as a featured artist on the soundtrack, Lucas Grabeel, who played Ryan Evans, was confirmed to be making an appearance on the series. Grabeel appears in the episode "The Tech Rehearsal" as a fictionalized version of himself, performing in a song alongside Reinders. Kaycee Stroh, who played Martha Cox, also makes a cameo appearance in the episode "What Team?" In December 2019, it was  reported that Joe Serafini, who plays Seb Matthew-Smith, would be promoted to the main cast for the second season. Further additions to the recurring cast were revealed in early 2020: Roman Banks as Howie; Olivia Rose Keegan as Lily; and Derek Hough as Zack, Miss Jenn's ex-boyfriend. In February 2021, Andrew Barth Feldman and Asher Angel joined the cast for the second season in recurring guest roles, as Antoine and Jack respectively. That July, it was revealed that Jordan Fisher would guest star as Jamie Porter in the penultimate episode of the second season. "Time" reported in  December 2021 that Rodrigo would return for the third season, amidst speculation she would not due to her music career. It was later stated that Rodrigo would return in a recurring role as opposed to the series regular status she maintained in the first two seasons. The casting for the third season was made public in January 2022, with Bassett, Cornett, Wylie, Lester, Reneé, Rodriguez and Reinders also confirmed to be returning. Keegan was promoted to the main cast for the third season. Adrian Lyles and Saylor Bell joined the cast as new series regulars, playing Jet and Maddox respectively . Further additions to the guest cast included Jason Earles as Dewey Wood and Meg Donnelly as Val. Also appearing is Corbin Bleu, who starred in the original film series, playing himself. Three further recurring characters were announced in March; Ben Stillwell, Aria Brooks and Liamani Segura as Channing, Alex and Emmy respectively. Filming. Production on the first season began on February 15, 2019, in Salt Lake City, Utah, and concluded on June 30. Production on the second season commenced in February 2020 but was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming had resumed by November 2020. Filming for the third  season commenced in January 2022, in Los Angeles rather than Salt Lake City. The mockumentary style of the series is achieved through the single-camera setup, with handheld cameras used to create shaky footage and zooming. In addition, talking heads are utilized to allow characters to express their inner thoughts while talking to the camera. These scenes represent the "present-day" in the story, while flashbacks to Nini and Ricky's past relationship are filmed more traditionally. Music. The first season contains nine original songs, with one new piece of music featured in each of the first nine episodes. The  majority of songs are performed live by the actors. Some actors accompanied their own performances on instruments such as the guitar. Rodrigo wrote an original song for the series, "All I Want", and co-wrote "Just for a Moment" with Bassett and music producer Dan Book. Federle stated that his original pitch included the idea of developing original songs for the series. Steve Vincent, who worked on the original films, served as the musical supervisor for the series and sourced several composers to write new music. He also received submissions from songwriters based in Los Angeles. The soundtrack for the  first season, featuring new songs and renditions of songs from the original film, was released on January 10, 2020, by Walt Disney Records. In the lead-up to the release, selected tracks were made available weekly to correlate with the episodes being released. An album accompanying the holiday special, "High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special: The Soundtrack", was released on November 20, 2020, which includes Christmas music as well as selected songs as a preview of the second season. As well as both new songs and new versions of songs from the "High School Musical" franchise, the second  season features songs from "Beauty and the Beast", written by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, and Tim Rice. Bassett and Rodrigo both wrote original songs for the second season. Release. The first episode of "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" was telecast on Disney Channel, ABC, and Freeform on November 8, 2019, ahead of its launch on the streaming service Disney+ on November 12, 2019, in 4K HDR. Episodes were released weekly rather than all at once. The first-season finale was released on January 10, 2020. A 45-minute holiday special entitled "High School Musical: The Musical: The  Holiday Special", featuring the cast performing Christmas music, was released on December 11, 2020. The special featured previews of songs and scenes from the second season. The second season premiered on May 14, 2021. The season was originally planned to debut in 2020, but was delayed as a result of filming being halted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the release of the second season, the complete first season aired a marathon viewing format on Disney Channel on May 8, 2021. Reception. Viewership. The preview simulcast of the first episode on November 8, 2019, was viewed by 2.03million on ABC , in addition to 474,000 on Disney Channel and 293,000 during its Freeform airing. The broadcast received 2.8million viewers in total. Critical response. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 75% approval rating for the first season with an average rating of 7.38/10 based on 32 ratings. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though fans may find what they've been looking for in its nostalgic stylings, "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" follows a little too closely in its predecessors steps to truly be the start of something new." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score  of 64 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Vinnie Mancuso of "Collider" described the series as "endearingly tongue-in-cheek". Kelly Lawler expressed that the series is a "love letter" to high school theater productions in a review for "USA Today". Kendra Cleary of "Hypable" stated that the series captures the energy of the original movie while introducing a relatable set of characters that are not as stereotypical as Troy and Gabriella. However, Caroline Framke of "Variety" suggested that some elements of the program are too similar to the original movie's "two-dimensional" approach . "Insider"s Libby Torres said the series lacked the "infectious energy" of the original film and found the premise jarring. Mancuso objected to the mockumentary style of the series, noting that the format distracts from other humor in the episodes. "/Film"s Ethan Anderton noted the technique as inorganic and unnecessary. Conversely, Cleary listed the talking heads as one of her favourite aspect of the series. Daniel Toy of "Tom's Guide" indicated how the techniques help to avoid unfamiliarity with characters. In his "Laughing Place" blog, Alex Reif said the series was more aimed at adults than the original movies. Joel  Keller of "Decider" suggested that viewing of the series does not require an understanding of the original franchise. Shannon Miller of "The A.V. Club" praised the cast's talent, in particular Rodrigo and Bassett for their musical ability and "handling of dramatic material". Writing for "Decider", Kayla Cobb stated that the two leads have significant romantic chemistry. Megan Peters of "Comicbook.com" praised Rodrigo for her portrayal of Nini's "cautious" personality, and Keller described her as "especially magnetic". Anderton also applauded the cast and suggested that the series does not feature the same "exaggerated acting style" as the source material . The show's choreography was commended, as well as Wylie for her dance capability. Toy described Rodriguez's comedic timing as Carlos as "impeccable". Anderton, Peters and Framke likened Kate Reinders's performance as the "overzealous" Miss Jenn to Kristin Chenoweth. The series has been likened to "Glee" for its themes, as well as its combination of music and drama. Framke described the series as a "sweet and very silly version of "Glee"", and Peters noted similarities through its "quick cuts and quips". However, Miller stated that "High School Musical" uses music more as a literal than abstract element in  the storyline. Cleary noted that the series is not a musical in itself, and that the songs appear organically, depicted through auditions and rehearsals. Reviewing the music, Mancuso and Toy expressed interest in the program continuing to provide new songs in addition to the original movie's soundtrack. Cleary praised the "vibrant and nostalgic" score. Cobb commended the vocal abilities of the main cast and described Rodrigo as "an especially pronounced talent" with a sweet and sincere voice.