Get ready, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series fans, because a brand new character is coming to East High! That’s right, on Thursday, March 5, Deadline reported that former Dancing With The Stars pro Derek Hough is set to join the cast for the second season, and fans couldn’t be more excited.
According to the publication, the 34-year-old performer will have a recurring guest role as Miss Jenn’s ex-boyfriend, named Zack. From the sound of it, Zack will bring some serious drama to the show as he makes a return to Salt Lake City to become the drama teacher at East High’s biggest rival school, North High.
For those who missed it, the show — which was a spinoff of the epic High School Musical movies — starred Joshua Bassett, Olivia Rodrigo, Sofia Wylie and more. The first season followed a whole new group of East High students as they prepared to put on their school’s production of HSM — and viewers seriously couldn’t get enough.
This epic casting announcement came one month after Disney+ confirmed that the fan-favorite spinoff series would return for a second season. They also revealed that instead of taking on another Disney Channel flick, the stars will be performers a different play this time — Beauty and the Beast!
According to People Magazine, Season 2 of the series will include reimagined musical numbers from both the High School Musical movies and Beauty and the Beast, as well as a bunch of brand new songs. Production of the new season is set to begin this week in Salt Lake City and is slated for a late 2020 debut.
“The outpouring of love and support for Season 1 has been incredibly exciting, and I’m thrilled that the Wildcats are putting on Beauty and the Beast in Season 2,” creator and executive producer Tim Federle said in a statement. “It was one of the first Broadway shows I ever saw, when I was 14, and it’s got all the perfect metaphors for the high school experience: Do people judge me for how I look? What is true love? Will I achieve the future I dream of? And, perhaps most importantly, it’s got dancing forks.”
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