The original High School Musical was the most commercially successful Disney Channel Original Movie ever produced upon its release in 2006. It's no wonder that Disney and the director, Kenny Ortega, wanted to take the film even further. HSM spawn two sequels, a spin off movie for Sharpay, and even a concert tour. The latest installment of the franchise is a television series that appears on Disney Plus.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series was a big hit with fans in the first season, and it has just been renewed for season 2. Audiences couldn't get enough of the catchy new tunes, the familiarity of an old favorite story, and the talented actors and actresses that we were introduced to. We're hoping that Disney keeps this amazing show at the top of its game, bringing back some of our favorite features this time around. Here are 10 things we want to see when season 2 premieres:
Seb and Carlos
In the past few years, Disney has begun breaking down walls and including different kinds of characters in their television shows, including members of the gay community. High School Musical the series included one boy, the drama choreographer Carlos, asking another, Sharpay’s actor Seb, to the school dance.
While Seb was nervous, we did get to see the two dance together, and they were adorable! We would love to see their relationship blossom into something even bigger than a one time dance. Bring on more LGBT representation, Disney! We are ready for it.
Cameos
One thing that made the original High School Musical movies special were the actors, so it only makes sense that some of them would have guest spots in the new series. So far, we saw Kaycee Stroh, who played Martha in the original films, when she was a member of the board for Miss Jenn’s hearing.
We also saw Lucas Grabeel, who played himself in a fantasy Miss Jenn had after getting knocked out. In the next season, we want to bring back even more of the old cast!
High School Musical 2
The premise of the series is that the students from the real East High are putting on a production of High School Musical in their drama program. At the end of season 1, the play was complete and performed for the audience on and off screen. Everyone did great, but it leaves us asking, what could they do next to keep the series going?
Obviously the only logical next step after HSM is to do High School Musical 2! Hopefully Miss Jenn agrees with us and chooses the sequel for the next school play.
Ashlyn and Big Red
Another romance that we’re hoping to see expand next season is between Ashlyn and Big Red. Ashlyn plays Ms. Darbus, and Big Red ends up helping out with various technical aspects behind the scenes of the play after he kept following Ricky to rehearsals.
Both Ashlyn and Big Red are slightly quieter characters, and that’s why we want their romance to be larger than life! A move was finally made when Big Red sent Ashlyn a giant arrangement of flowers the night of the play, and later, Ashlyn returned the gift with a kiss! We're hoping a date will come next!
Songs Written by the Cast
Both the HSM movies and series are chock full of great songs with incredible melodies and catchy lyrics. Last season, we got to hear brand new songs as well as some old classics, and we loved them all. We can only imagine what new music will be brought to the next season, but we’re hoping that some are written by the cast!
We had “All I Want,” by Olivia Rodrigo who plays Nini, and in “Just for a Moment,” she was joined by her costar, Joshua Bassett, who plays her on screen ex boyfriend Ricky. Both brought talent with not only their acting and singing but their writing as well. We can’t wait to hear more!
Drama
It seems inevitable in any high school and every teen television series. When you get a bunch of adolescents together with raging hormones and developing minds, you're bound to get some sort of drama going on. The kids of the High School Musical series are no different. Last season, we had lying, stealing, sneaking, break ups, new romances, potential sabotage, and of course the inescapable gossip that comes along with it all.
We've watched our favorite characters as they took a ride on this wild roller coaster called high school, and we've enjoyed seeing the twists and turns they've encountered along the way. It's our guilty pleasure, and we just know that the writers will have more in store for us.
Miss Jenn Shenanigans
Every good drama program needs a colorful and creative teacher/director, and East High found one in Miss Jenn, whose claim to fame is that she starred as a background dancer in the original High School Musical. Ever since she was hired and came up with the fabulous idea of recreating HSM for this year's play, things haven't been dull surrounding this drama teacher.
She almost got fired and had to sit before a board after fibbing a little bit on her resume, and she accidentally caused a fire in the school after falling asleep while using some faulty wiring during after hours. Then of course, who could forget her wild and refreshing takes on the play as she adds scenes and songs? Miss Jenn is definitely a driving character that we need more of.
Kourtney Fierceness
Kourtney (played by Dara Renee) is the best friend that every girl wants. She’s friendly, funny, encouraging, outgoing, determined, and strong willed. She’s always there when Nini needs her, and whatever season 2 brings for Nini, Kourtney will surely have her back.
Kourtney is also not afraid to be herself and stick up for what she believes in (which includes dismantling the patriarchy). We love her activist attitude, her confident quotes, and her sensational singing! Fans like us can’t wait to see what she brings in season 2, but we know that it will be full of life and girl power!
Gina
We’ve had a few ups and down with Gina throughout season one. She was trying to sabotage the auditions, we thought she stole Nini’s phone, she had a date with Ricky, she moved away, and then she came back for the night of the show.
Overall, she adds a great element to the series, but we aren’t sure if she’ll be in season two since she moved. However, there is hope, since Ashlyn and her family offered Gina the guest room in their house if she wants to stay there. We’ll see if she takes them up on the offer!
Ricky and Nini
The on again off again romance that has had everyone talking since the beginning of the first season is between Ricky and Nini. She loved him, he broke her heart, she moved on to someone else, he tried to win her back by joining the school play... In the season finale, Nini and Ricky finally shared their feelings with each other backstage, with Ricky admitting that he loves Nini and the two finally sharing a kiss.
Fans of their relationship rejoiced as it seemed that they would finally get back together, but nothing has been made official. We can only hope that things will continue to go well for them next season!