High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is an American mockumentary musical drama web 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.
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 and Kate Reinders.
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. The first season consists of 10 episodes. In October 2019, before the series debuted, Disney+ renewed the series for a second season.
The series has received a positive response, with critical reviews highlighting the performances of the cast. 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.
Cast and characters
Main
- Olivia Rodrigo as Nini Salazar-Roberts, a musical theater enthusiast, who is cast as Gabriella Montez.
- Joshua Bassett as Ricky Bowen, a guitarist and skateboarder who previously dated Nini, who is cast as Troy Bolton despite his initial lack of interest in the musical
- Matt Cornett as E.J. Caswell, a jock theater enthusiast Nini previously met at theater camp, who is cast as Chad Danforth and the understudy for Troy
- Sofia Wylie as Gina Porter, a transfer student with theater ambitions, who is cast as Taylor McKessie and the understudy for Gabriella
- Larry Saperstein as Big Red, Ricky's best friend, who fills in as stage manager for the production whenever Natalie is unavailable, despite his lack of knowledge about theater. He is later shown to have hidden talents in tap dancing and knowledge of electronics.
- Julia Lester as Ashlyn Caswell, E.J.'s cousin and an aspiring songwriter, who is cast as Ms. Darbus
- Dara Reneé as Kourtney, Nini's best friend and a self-proclaimed feminist, who works in the costuming department of the musical
- Frankie Rodriguez as Carlos Rodriguez, the choreographer of the production, who works alongside Miss Jenn
- Mark St. Cyr as Mr. Benjamin Mazzara, East High's STEM teacher, who is against the school's focus on the Arts
- Kate Reinders as Miss Jenn, East High's new drama teacher, who appeared in the original High School Musical film as a background dancer and directs the school's production
Recurring
- Joe Serafini as Seb Matthew-Smith, a student who is cast in the role of Sharpay Evans. He begins a relationship with Carlos.
- Alexis Nelis as Natalie Bagley, the stage manager for the production
- Nicole Sullivan and Michelle Noh as Carol and Dana, Nini's mothers
- Jeanne Sakata as Malou, Nini's grandmother
- Alex Quijano as Mike Bowen, Ricky's father, whose wife is estranged and currently living in Chicago
- Valente Rodriguez as Principal Gutierrez
- Beth Lacke as Lynne Bowen, Mike's wife and Ricky's mother, who returns to announce she and Mike are getting divorced.
Guest
- Kaycee Stroh as Kaycee, a member of the school board. Stroh played Martha Cox in the original film.
- Lucas Grabeel as himself, appearing in a dream sequence. Grabeel played Ryan Evans in the original film.
Episodes
Special
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. Ferderle pitched the documentary-style series in January 2018 and went on to write drafts of a script together with Disney Channel.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. The series is produced in association with Disney Channel.
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 will consist of twelve episodes.
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 which 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 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 also 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.
Filming
Production on the first season began on February 15, 2019, in Salt Lake City, Utah, and concluded on June 30. Pre-production on the second season commenced in February 2020, but was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.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 distributed.
As well as both new songs and new versions of songs from the original film, the second season will feature songs from the Disney musical Beauty and the Beast, written by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice.
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.Marketing
The first poster and trailer of the program were released on August 23, 2019, at the Disney+ panel at D23 Expo 2019. The first episode was also screened alongside a panel discussion hosted by High School Musical cast member Corbin Bleu.Companion series
A short form behind-the-scenes series entitled High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: Extra Credit was released weekly on YouTube and added to Disney+ on January 17, 2020. The series features cast interviews, rehearsal footage and other clips from the production of the series. An updated version of the first season entitled High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Sing–Along, branded as a sing-along with on-screen lyrics to the featured songs, was also released on January 17.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 74% approval rating for the first season with an average rating of 7.41/10 based on 31 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series resembles its predecessors a little too closely to truly be the start of something new – though franchise fans may just find what they've been looking for in its nostalgic stylings." 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. Insiders 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. /Films 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 prasied 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.