“High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” Set To Return

The Disney+ mockumentary series “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” is set to premiere its second season on May 14th, 2021, as rumors swirl around about potential guest stars and new additions to the cast. The show, which follows the lives of students at a fictionalized version of East High School (the school where the original “High School Musical” movies were filmed), first debuted in late 2019 and has effectively helped launch the mainstream music careers of a few of its cast members, while bringing Generation Z viewers back to the glory days of HSM. Season 1 was well received by critics, getting a 75% score on Rotten Tomatoes and winning a GLAAD Media Award for its positive portrayal of LGBTQ+ relationships.

Since the Season 1 finale aired, cast member Joshua Bassett, who played Ricky Bowen, has released multiple songs, including “Lie Lie Lie,” which peaked at number 25 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. His costar, Olivia Rodrigo, who played Nini Salazar-Roberts, quickly rose to pop stardom, releasing her song “drivers license” (which many assumed was about her unconfirmed romantic relationship with Bassett) to critical acclaim. The song broke multiple streaming records and gained the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100. She is now set to perform on “Saturday Night Live” as the show’s musical guest the day after her show’s Season 2 premiere is released to Disney+.

Season 2 seems to be bringing extra star power, with Derek Hough from “Dancing With the Stars,” Olivia Rose Keegan from “Days of Our Lives,” and Asher Angel of “Andi Mack” and “Shazam!” fame coming on board as recurring cast members. While it is unclear whether any former High School Musical stars will appear, the fact that both Kaycee Stroh and Lucas Gabreel (who played Martha Cox and Ryan Evans, respectively) cameoed during the first season makes more HSM-alum appearances likely.

It has also been rumored that TikTok star Charli D’Amelio is set to appear ever since she appeared in the “High School Musical” portion of ABC’s “The Disney Family Singalong.” These rumors have not been substantiated and ultimately should be taken with a grain of salt.

This coming season of “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” will seemingly take place following the events of last season, with Nini and Ricky having to deal with her departure from their school to attend a prestigious performing arts school and the drama club’s efforts to perform a musical even better than their first “High School Musical” outing.

New episodes of “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” will air every Friday, starting on May 14th, 2021, on Disney+.