Everything to Know About ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ Season 3

Credit: Walt Disney Pictures/Kobal/Shutterstock

Everything to Know About ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ Season 3

We’re all in this together! High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is returning to Disney+ for a third season, and the Wildcats are leaving East High for a new adventure. The show — HSMTMTS for short — made its debut on Disney+ in November 2019. It was inspired by the three-movie High School Musical franchise, which aired its first two movies via Disney Channel in 2006 and 2007, respectively, with the final installment premiering theatrically in 2008. https://youtu.be/lgewgYwRrYs Set at the now-iconic East High School in Salt Lake City, HSMTMTS is a mockumentary that features fictional students Ricky (Joshua Bassett), Nini (Olivia Rodrigo), Gina (Sofia Wylie), E.J. (Matt Cornett), Kourtney (Dara Reneé), Ashlyn (Julia Lester), Carlos (Frankie Rodriguez), among others, along with their energetic drama teacher Miss Jenn (Kate Reinders). The first season followed the school’s theater department as they put on a stage production of High School Musical. “From day one, I always saw us as what I hope is a long-running series, and I knew that if we cast the right talent who had the right chemistry and who were proud theater kids themselves, the audience would become engaged with their journeys,” showrunner Tim Federle told Entertainment Weekly in November 2019. “Casting was key and we looked really, really hard for this group.” [jwplayer uxaFsXjc-zhNYySv2] After becoming attached to their favorite characters’ stories, fans rallied for a second season, which premiered via Disney+ in May 2021. This time around, the Wildcats took on Beauty and the Beast in hopes of winning an Alan Menken Award for high school theater productions. Amid rehearsals for the show and their battle against rivals North High, fan-favorite couple Nini and Ricky were dealing with hardships in their relationship — which viewers believed was reflective of the rumored drama between stars Rodrigo and Bassett going on behind the scenes. [jwplayer uxaFsXjc-zhNYySv2] “Nini has fully accepted that there's an exciting other world of possibility when you don't center yourself on a guy, and I think she's actually excited about that and obviously has nostalgia for this first relationship and her best friend from her youth. But also sees real possibilities,” Federle told Entertainment Tonight in July 2021 following the characters’ eventual breakup. “Ricky accepts it, he's read the room. She doesn't want to hear the song he wrote, it's time to move on.” Fans hope the pair will be able to figure out their differences as the show continues, but it’s unclear where their future stands since Nini may have an exciting opportunity in her future. During the season 2 finale, the high schooler received a phone call from Gina’s music producer brother Jamie (Jordan Fisher) — and who knows where that may lead. Keep scrolling for everything we know about HSMTMTS season 3 so far. [podcast_block]

Credit: Walt Disney Pictures/Kobal/Shutterstock

Everything to Know About ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ Season 3

We’re all in this together! High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is returning to Disney+ for a third season, and the Wildcats are leaving East High for a new adventure. The show — HSMTMTS for short — made its debut on Disney+ in November 2019. It was inspired by the three-movie High School Musical franchise, which aired its first two movies via Disney Channel in 2006 and 2007, respectively, with the final installment premiering theatrically in 2008. https://youtu.be/lgewgYwRrYs Set at the now-iconic East High School in Salt Lake City, HSMTMTS is a mockumentary that features fictional students Ricky (Joshua Bassett), Nini (Olivia Rodrigo), Gina (Sofia Wylie), E.J. (Matt Cornett), Kourtney (Dara Reneé), Ashlyn (Julia Lester), Carlos (Frankie Rodriguez), among others, along with their energetic drama teacher Miss Jenn (Kate Reinders). The first season followed the school’s theater department as they put on a stage production of High School Musical. “From day one, I always saw us as what I hope is a long-running series, and I knew that if we cast the right talent who had the right chemistry and who were proud theater kids themselves, the audience would become engaged with their journeys,” showrunner Tim Federle told Entertainment Weekly in November 2019. “Casting was key and we looked really, really hard for this group.” [jwplayer uxaFsXjc-zhNYySv2] After becoming attached to their favorite characters’ stories, fans rallied for a second season, which premiered via Disney+ in May 2021. This time around, the Wildcats took on Beauty and the Beast in hopes of winning an Alan Menken Award for high school theater productions. Amid rehearsals for the show and their battle against rivals North High, fan-favorite couple Nini and Ricky were dealing with hardships in their relationship — which viewers believed was reflective of the rumored drama between stars Rodrigo and Bassett going on behind the scenes. [jwplayer uxaFsXjc-zhNYySv2] “Nini has fully accepted that there's an exciting other world of possibility when you don't center yourself on a guy, and I think she's actually excited about that and obviously has nostalgia for this first relationship and her best friend from her youth. But also sees real possibilities,” Federle told Entertainment Tonight in July 2021 following the characters’ eventual breakup. “Ricky accepts it, he's read the room. She doesn't want to hear the song he wrote, it's time to move on.” Fans hope the pair will be able to figure out their differences as the show continues, but it’s unclear where their future stands since Nini may have an exciting opportunity in her future. During the season 2 finale, the high schooler received a phone call from Gina’s music producer brother Jamie (Jordan Fisher) — and who knows where that may lead. Keep scrolling for everything we know about HSMTMTS season 3 so far. [podcast_block]

Credit: Walt Disney Pictures/Kobal/Shutterstock

Returning for More

It was confirmed in September 2021 that the East High Wildcats would be returning for a third season. “We are overjoyed to be heading to the great outdoors for season three, and grateful to our partners and friends at Disney+ for their continued support of our next-generation Wildcats,” Federle shared in a statement at the time.

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Headed to Summer Camp

By the “great outdoors,” Federle means summer camp. The Wildcats will be saying goodbye to Salt Lake City and hello to Camp Shallow Lake in California. The official season 3 announcement from Disney+ promised “campfires, summer romances and curfew-less nights.”

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A Huge Teaser

While celebrating Disney+ day in November 2021, the streaming service’s official Twitter account dropped a major teaser about what fans can expect to see in HSMTMTS season 3. “We already have ❄️chills❄️ #HSMTMTS season 3 is coming in 2022,” the tweet read alongside a graphic that said, “Love is an open door.”

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Will Olivia Rodrigo Return?

Following her major success as a solo artist, it was unclear whether Rodrigo would return to the show. Since her character’s future was left open ended, fans were worried she would be saying goodbye to the series altogether. During a December 2021 interview with the Los Angeles Times, however, the “Drivers License” songstress confirmed that she would be reprising her role as Nini once again.

Rodrigo will have a recurring role this season, Entertainment Tonight reported in March 2022. Her costars Reinders and Olivia Rose Keegan will also have smaller roles for season 3, popping up as recurring characters.

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Real-Life Drama

Following Rodrigo’s confirmation, her costar Bassett revealed in an interview with GQ that the former on-screen couple have not spoken “since ‘Drivers License’ came out” in January 2021. It’s been widely speculated that Rodrigo’s debut single is about a past rumored relationship between herself and Bassett.

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Excited for More

Despite the drama that unfolded throughout 2021, Bassett isn’t at all apprehensive about returning to set.

“I think we have a really, really awesome season lined up, and I think, you know, it’s gonna be truly a blast,” he said on the Zach Sang Show in December 2021. “I think we have a lot of really great episodes lined up, and it’s gonna be, I think, the most fun one yet, in terms of writing and moral and all that stuff. I’m really excited.”

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Kicking Off Production

Disney+ announced in a January 2022 press release that production on season 3 had officially started in Los Angeles.

Credit: Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock

An Original ‘HSM’ Star Will Return

The streaming service also announced that original High School Musical star Corbin Bleu, who played Chad Danforth in the film series, would be portraying himself in a guest-starring role.

“I knew that if I was to ever return it would need to be under the right circumstances, and I’m happy to say the boxes are being checked!” the Disney Channel alum shared via Instagram in January 2022.

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More Musical Moments

It has also been confirmed that while at Camp Shallow Lake, the Wildcats will be putting on a production of Frozen. Additionally, it was revealed that music from Camp Rock and the High School Musical franchises would be sung throughout the season.

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A New Cast of Characters

Meg Donnelly, Jason Earles, Saylor Bell and newcomer Adrian Lyles are also set to join the cast.

Donnelly, for her part, will guest star as college student Val, the Frozen choreographer. Earles is set to star as the director of Camp Shallow Lake, Dewey Wood. Bell and Lyles will play newcomers Maddox and Jet, respectively.

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Even More New Faces

Ferguson and Siwa were announced as guest stars in June 2022. Ben Stillwell, Aria Brooks and Liamani Segura are joining the cast, Entertainment Tonight reported in March 2022. Stillwell will play a cameraman named Channing, who is working on a docuseries about Camp Shallow Lake's production of Frozen.

Brooks is set to portray an eighth grader and new Camp Shallow Lake camper Alex. Segura, for her part, will play another eighth grader named Emmy, who has never auditioned at the camp.

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Cool for the Summer

The docu-style comedy released a first look at the third season, which is dropping July 27, alongside an announcement that the series will be returning for a fourth installment. 

In the teaser trailer, Bleu shows up to announce which show the gang will be performing while away at camp.

The clip features EJ (Cornett) alluding to girlfriend Gina (Wylie) that he may be behind the HSM alum’s surprise appearance while Bleu also makes a speech to the theatre group about taking on Disney’s “blockbuster hit” Frozen for their summertime musical. 

Disney+ also confirmed at the time of the teaser's release that Rodrigo will be appearing in season 3 as a recurring guest star.

Credit: YouTube

Is There a Trailer for 'HSMTMTS' Season 3?

The video featuring season 3 footage dropped in June 2022 and is packed with old and new faces. Jesse Tyler Ferguson and JoJo Siwa are revealed as guest stars while Rodrigo is also featured prominently, despite her recurring status.

Credit: Disney/Anne Marie Fox

Ready to Rock

In addition to belting out hit songs from the High School Musical trilogy and Frozen, season 3 will also feature songs from Disney Channel’s Camp Rock franchise. Ahead of the season premiere, the network dropped a teaser clip of the HSMTMTS crew singing “It’s On” from Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam during a heated Color War tournament.

Credit: Disney/Sheryl Nields

What’s In Store for Nini?

"I think she's ready to explore the world outside the halls of East High," Federle teased to Entertainment Tonight in July 2022. "And Olivia herself was having such a monumental explosion in the music industry that it felt like the right thing to, frankly, work with Olivia to say, 'How do we get you out there into the world with us taking a little bit more of a backseat?' Which we were all proud to do to support her.”

He added: “And so this season it's about trying to give her character a proper sendoff while also leaving room for other characters to really step into the fray and step into the spotlight.”

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Will Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens Make an Appearance?

After both HSM stars posted snaps via their respective Instagrams outside East High, eagle-eyed fans began to wonder if the former Wildcats would make an appearance on the series.

"Listen, I can't say anything," Bassett told E! News' Daily Pop in July 2022. "But all I will say is I was just as confused as you are. I don't know what's going on with that."

However, showrunner Federle set the record straight later that month. "You know, I really want the audience to watch all eight episodes [of season 3] because it'll really, really help us to get that season 5 [renewal], but I would be lying to you if I said that there's some big Zac and Vanessa plan at this point," he told EW at the time. "[Getting the original cast to make a cameo] is all in the works, but I would not hold your breath for a big appearance in season 3."

Credit: Courtesy of Disney/Anne Marie Fox

Will There Be Another Love Triangle?

After Ricky and Nini called it quits in season 2, fans have begun to wonder if a second love triangle will take shape between Ricky, Gina and EJ during the summer. 

"E.J. and Gina have just started this relationship, so they are in their honeymoon phase where everything is perfect and rose-colored," Wyle told Entertainment Tonight in July 2022 about the relationships between characters this season. "But of course, other factors come into play and people get stressed out, things change, other people come into the picture," she teased. 

Cornett, for his part, explained that EJ will have a lot to balance while at camp. “He gets thrown into this boat of having to direct this show, it shifts his focus a little bit to that, whereas he really wanted his focus to be on Gina and being able to take in every second with her and be present in every moment with her," he said. "He now has to split that focus and throw some of it onto directing.”

As for Ricky, Bassett hinted that his character will have to navigate the blurry lines of teenage relationships. "It's an interesting thing in high school, how relationships flourish and then fall away," he quipped. "It ebbs and flows, and I think that sometimes romances do die and there's always that lingering thing around. So whether it's spoken or unspoken, I think obviously there's still unresolved things amongst the whole cast.”

Credit: Disney/Sheryl Nields(2)

Who Will Star in the Musical?

After a long day of scrambled auditioning, it was revealed in episode 3 that Wylie and Renée landed the leads in Frozen, portraying sisters Anna and Elsa, respectively.

“I felt really strongly that Dara Renée as Elsa would be so powerful,” Federle told TVLine in August. “And then to have [Sofia Wylie] as Anna — because Sofia’s so funny, and a lot of people don’t always get to see that side of her — would be a really beautiful combination.”

Federle explained that while teen drama is an important aspect of HSMTMTS, casting Renée and Wylie as the main roles fit with the show's most important theme of the season — sisterhood. 

“While I feel that romantic love is something that's at the center of a lot of shows, I also think not enough is said about camaraderie and sisterhood among young women, who the media often tries to pit against each other,” the showrunner explained. “Frozen was chosen for those themes, plus the music’s incredible. It was fun to stretch outside of our High School Musical universe.”