What time is it? Summer time!
Well, that’s what the students of East High are saying in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. I know, the name is a mouthful, but honestly, this show is a whole lot of fun and if you haven’t watched it, you definitely should. The first two seasons were great, from the songs in Season 1 to the drama in Season 2, and when it was announced that the series would be getting a Season 3 and 4, I was all on board.
Now that I have watched the first episode of Season 3, I am even more excited for the next episodes to come, and that premiere has me all in my feelings - specifically these five.
Nostalgic
Man, this show makes me so nostalgic for when I was younger.
Don’t get me wrong, I would never travel back in time to then, just because I was so young and didn’t know half the stuff I know now, but there is just something about listening to the soundtrack of some of these original songs from the High School Musical movies that just get me. While we don’t get many songs in the first episode, we get the classic, “What Time Is It” from High School Musical 2 within the few three minutes of the show and ugh, the memories.
If you were a tween or kid back in 2007 and watched HSM2 when it premiered on Disney Channel, you know this song just as well as I do. And for years, I sang this song on the last day of school - heck, I still sing it now whenever warm weather comes around and I’m two years out of college. I love this music, and I can already tell from just this first episode that this season is going to make me so nostalgic.
Curiosity
I’m really curious to see what they’re going to do with this camp in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
For those who don’t know, the first two seasons of this series were pretty much based around the first film's premise. The show takes place in a world where the movies exist, but instead of the actors from the High School Musical cast that we’re familiar with, we are introduced to students who are auditioning for those iconic roles. And over the last two seasons, we’ve watched them grow into brilliant performers while singing in productions of both High School Musical and Beauty and the Beast, with covers and original songs all along the way.
But the whole entire point of the first two seasons was that this show took place in the same high school where the movies were filmed. So it’s only natural to think that the second season might end up happening at the country club that was in High School Musical 2, but nope - we are at a summer camp, something that was never talked about in the original movies.
The arrival of everyone coming to this summer camp is fun, but it makes me wonder how they’re going to include the songs from High School Musical 2 into this season when it’s not at the same location as the film, but it’s still interesting to watch, nonetheless.
Proud
Dude, I love Olivia Rodrigo - and I mean that. This girl has done so much these last two years and watching her in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is always a joy.
But what really makes me so proud of her is that I’m not even just proud of the actress, but the character as well. Nini is this young star who is a little afraid to take these big risks but she does so anyway, knowing that she has this big break she can’t lose, which was the big theme of this first episode. She goes away on this road trip with a producer over the summer so she can record songs, giving her that shot, and I am so proud of her for doing that.
Olivia Rodrigo plays her perfectly, and while I know that her character was demoted to a guest role thanks to Rodrigo’s budding music career, I can’t help but be proud, because wow, she has blown up. It makes me want to watch her documentary on Disney+ again.
Eagerness
I know I said earlier on that I was curious as to how they’re going to really change up this season with this new location. But, about twenty minutes in, I genuinely was feeling eager to see where this show would go - specifically the dynamics of new characters.
For two seasons, we have pretty much been surrounded by the same characters, and while we have grown to love them, I think this season was the one where we truly needed a change in not only scenery, but characters as well. And this first episode brought a ton of them in.
One of the scenes that got me really eager to see what happens with these new characters was when Gina, Ashlyn and Kourtney, three clear as day theater kids, find out they have to share a cabin with Gadget (a new character) and two other girls - and you can clearly tell at first that they are not feeling the vibe, and you can almost smell the problems from a mile away.
That screams great television, and it’s got me wondering how much more drama this show is going to produce over the next episodes with these new dynamics. I’m so eager to see.
Excitement
Seeing Corbin Bleu in the premiere episode made me very excited to see where this fictionalized version of him is going to go next.
Usually, when it comes to the original members from the High School Musical movies, we’ll get some pictures from them from the old high school - like Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron both recently taking pics there in 2022 - but I didn’t think anyone would come back to the show. We had Lucas Grabeel and Kaycee Stroh in Season 1 but no one in Season 2, so I'm super pumped to see Corbin Bleu back for this season.
Not only that, but Jason Earles. Do you guys know who he is? The moment I saw him as Dewey, the director of Camp Shallow Lake, I practically screamed. This man is Disney Channel royalty. He was not only a co-star on Hannah Montana but also on Kickin’ It and I can’t believe he is in another Disney show and it has me so excited.
I’m not sure how often he and Bleu are going to be on the show, but I know for a fact that those two appearing on that stage has me excited for what this season holds and I can’t wait to see what’s next. Could Zac Efron be next?
What are you guys looking forward to with Season 3 of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series? All I know is that if I don’t get a cover of “Fabulous” by Carlos in this season, I will riot. I demand it, Disney+!
