Great news HSM fans! The Disney mega-success, “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” is coming back to a screen near you for Season 3. After the triumph of the first two seasons, “season three will follow the Wildcats as they leave the hallways of East High for the ultimate summer at sleepaway camp, complete with campfires, summer romances and curfew-less nights.” The show is switching its production from Salt Lake City, Utah to Los Angeles, California to accomplish this. Filming of the new season will begin later this year according to reports. Season 2 only just finished airing its final episode on July 30th of 2021, so eager fans hopefully won’t have to wait too long to see the upcoming season. That being said, no release date for Season 3’s premiere has been officially announced yet.
The series stars pop music superstar Olivia Rodrigo as Nini, Joshua Bassett as Ricky, Matt Cornett as E. J., Sofia Wylie as Gina, Larry Saperstein as Big Red, Julia Lester as Ashlyn, Dara Reneé as Kourtney, Frankie Rodriguez as Carlos, Joe Serafini as Seb, Mark St. Cyr as Mr. Mazzara, and Kate Reinders as Miss Jenn. The series was created by and is executive produced by Tim Federle. Considered to be a “meta” show that is usually self-aware, there is a likelihood that star Olivia Rodrigo’s now international music success outside of the series may play into future plotlines somehow.
Filming outdoors with a summer camp theme for season 3 may also be beneficial to the production team of the show, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues worldwide. Despite that possibility, this also keeps the show on a similar path to the original movie franchise, like in “High School Musical 2,” which was also set in the summertime at a luxurious country club. By moving production to L.A., the show will also be able to film “summer” scenes despite Season 3 not planning to actually film during the summertime.
Show creator Tim Federle has this to add in an interview with Entertainment Tonight; “I’ve always wanted to do summer stuff because I think summer is a time of letting go and not having a curfew, and the rules kind of change.”
In its first two seasons, “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” has already aired 22 episodes and 2 specials despite only premiering in November 2019. The show has also been positively received by critics, winning a GLAAD Media Award in 2020 for Outstanding Kids & Family Programming.
From the press release: “Inspired by the immensely successful, two-time Emmy Award-winning “High School Musical” the franchise that catapulted the likes of Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens into stardom and dominated the Billboard charts, “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” is again taking over the airwaves and helping launch the careers of some of Hollywood’s next big stars. A few of the breakout original songs from the series include, “Just For a Moment,” the season one ballad Joshua Bassett and Olivia Rodrigo wrote for their characters Ricky and Nini; “All I Want,” the platinum-certified, Billboard Hot 100-reaching hit song that Rodrigo wrote and performed as Nini in season one; and “The Rose Song,” an empowering number that Rodrigo penned for Nini in season two. The soundtracks for “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” season one, season two, and “High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special” have an astounding one billion four hundred thirty-eight million combined streams to date.”
“Seasons one and two of “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” are set at East High School, the setting and filming location of the original movies. In season one, the series follows members of the drama club and their faculty advisors as they work their way to opening night of their school’s first-ever production of “High School Musical: The Musical.” Season two culminates in a performance of “Beauty and the Beast.” Show-mances blossom, old friendships are tested while new ones are made, rivalries flare, and lives are changed forever as these students discover the transformative power that only high school theater can provide.”
