Producer Tim Federle admits he didn’t know how to craft a TV series when he launched “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” in 2019.
“But what I did have was a lot of hope and a big heart that if I hired real theater kids they would bring these stories to life…and boy did they deliver,” he says.
The series has been a consistent hit for Disney and a launching pad for its actors.
Now approaching its fourth and final season, “HSM:TM:TS” is a lot like graduation, its actors admit.
“It’s bittersweet,” Federle says. “Mostly sweet. I don’t think of it as goodbye because when people graduate they go off, hopefully, to even bigger dreams. But it’s definitely full circle. In the streaming era, to get four seasons at all feels like a miracle.”
In the series’ four years, “HSM:TM:TS” made stars of Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett and gave Julia Lester a springboard to Broadway where she nabbed a Tony nomination this spring. Others have had equally impressive success.
Says Federle, “I didn’t expect it to happen so hyperfast. But I think they’re all going to have very long careers. They’re like my kids, so I’m biased.”
When Federle – a Broadway veteran – floated the idea of a “High School Musical” spinoff, others wondered if it could last a year.
“When we ended the first season, we filmed alternate endings just in case we didn’t get to come back,” says Frankie Rodriguez, who plays Carlos.
Others, however, were hopeful. Bassett was in a community theater production of “High School Musical” when he was 8. “It was my first introduction to musical theater ever, so it was pretty neat when it came around,” he says.
That buy-in helped fire the troops and showcase what high school theater is all about. “There’s a team effort that comes with it,” Bassett said when the series launched. “Everyone’s accepted in theater. Everyone has to come together to make it happen.”
Federle was so impressed with Bassett and Rodrigo he let them write songs for the show. Others got similar encouragement.
Sofia Wylie, who plays Gina, “is going to be a mogul who runs an entertainment company because she has so much talent and wisdom and brilliance on screen and off,” Federle says. “Nothing surprises me with this group.”
To mix things up for the final season, he invited actors from the original “High School Musical” to make appearances. The premise: They’re at the school to make “High School Musical 4: The Reunion.” The East High students? They’re invited to fill in as extras.
To get the “OG Wildcats,” as Federle calls them, he got on the phone before writing started just to be sure the concept would work. “They became mega-famous 16 years ago and I remember saying to my principal cast, ‘Look how humble they remained. Look at how they take care of each other. You guys have got to be there for each other as the years go on'…and I think they really took that to heart.”
Looking back on his series, Federle says he thinks he finally got high school right.
“I missed my high school graduation because I was doing a regional theater production of ‘Oklahoma!’," he says. "If I look back at this, it’s that I had this miraculous second chance to get some of it right. I will forever be grateful for that.”
“High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” begins its fourth season Aug. 9. All eight episodes will drop that day.
