On Jan. 19, 2018, “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” showrunner Tim Federle emailed a pitch to Disney for a mockumentary-style musical comedy series offering an “American Vandal” meets “Pitch Perfect” portrayal of a group of theater kids putting on a production of “High School Musical” at the school where the original movies were filmed. The spinoff ignited a reinvigorated passion for the early-aughts film series to legions of original “High School Musical” fans and brought a new generation into the fold.
Almost five years later, the fourth and final season of the Disney Plus series will come to a close, delivering all of the nostalgia promised by Federle’s first pitch, an ode to the original High School Musical films. Driven by the return of original “High School Musical” actors Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, Lucas Grabeel, Alyson Reed, Bart Johnson and Kaycee Stroh, the show’s final season follows the filming of “High School Musical 4: The Reunion,” a high-budget movie production that continues the tale of the East High OGs. The fictional sequel also features East High’s beloved theater kids as background actors for a hyper-meta collision of the reboot show and original movies. At the same time, the drama department is preparing its own production of “High School Musical 3.”
Despite its humble beginnings as a low budget made-for-TV movie, the High School Musical trilogy has maintained a prominent place in popular culture. The modern-day Romeo-and-Juliet story of basketball player Troy Bolton and brainy transfer student Gabriella Montez, torn between their academic and athletic passions and a desire to audition for the winter musical, captured the attention of young audiences across the globe. More than 7 million viewers tuned in to watch the first broadcast of “High School Musical” on Disney Channel. According to Billboard, the soundtrack became the first TV soundtrack to reach No. 1 on the charts since “Miami Vice” in 1986 and became the best-selling album of 2006 at 3.7 million copies.
Catapulting its lead actors to stardom, the series spawned a sold-out international concert tour, singing Mattel dolls, Disney Parks character actors, national touring stage productions, a traveling ice show, fashion lines inspired by characters and more.
The January 2006 film was what many critics considered a rare, blockbuster made-for-TV movie. Though director Kenny Ortega was unsure if it would capture audiences’ attention, he hoped it would be a launchpad for larger projects that could place his work on the big screen.
“I personally didn’t go in to make this film to have this worldwide appeal, but all the ingredients seemed to be there,” Ortega said in a 2008 interview reflecting on the franchise’s success. The preceding year, ‘High School Musical 2’ broke a broadcast cable record, surpassing the viewership of “Monday Night Football” with 17.2 million viewers nationwide. The third film, “High School Musical 3: Senior Year,” grossed more than $250 million worldwide in a theatrical release.
Fans speculated that Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron would reprise their roles on the spinoff after the actors shared Instagram posts standing in front of Salt Lake City’s real-life East High School in 2022. Though their posts occurred around the time HSMTMTS was filming and racked up nearly 8 million likes, the pair does not appear in the series.
Though fans will not see the return of iconic characters such as Troy, Gabriella or Sharpay Evans, HSMTMTS’s newest episodes expand on the lore of the original films and offer a glimpse into the lives of characters fans know and love. Troy and Gabriella are in couples therapy. Taylor and Chad, portrayed by Coleman and Bleu, are married. Lucas Grabeel reprises his role as Ryan in the film without his sister-sidekick but instead a new romantic partner portrayed by Pentatonix singer Scott Hoying, offering an answer to long-held fan speculation that the character was gay in the early 2000s trilogy.
Since debuting in November 2019, the show has racked up dozens of accolades for its original songs, inclusive storytelling and spotlight on LGBTQ+ relationships, including a four-season-long romance between characters Carlos and Seb — Disney’s first gay love story. The characters’ tale began with a homecoming date and slow dance and has since evolved to duets and serenades, plotlines about body image, cheating scandals, bullying and physical abuse, and “I love yous.”
Pop singer Olivia Rodrigo, who formerly starred as HSMTMTS shy leading lady, Nini, wrote her first Billboard charting song, “All I Want,” for the series. In 2022, the show was nominated for five Emmy Awards.
As many of the HSMTMTS characters are stepping into their senior year of high school and preparing to take their final bow, the fourth season tackles challenges with college decisions, anxiety, sexuality and first love.
Joshua Bassett, Sofia Wylie, Julia Lester, Dara Reneé, and Frankie Rodriguez step into the roles of Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Ryan and Kelsi in East High’s production of “High School Musical 3” in the fourth season.
At their core, both the original film and its spinoff aim to accomplish similar goals, reminding younger generations that it is acceptable to break away from the status quo to pursue their true passions, be the most authentic version of themselves and find community with their peers. All eight episodes of the show’s final season will be available on Disney Plus starting Wednesday.
