All The Deets‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ Season 2: Everything We Know

When will season 2 premiere?

Mark your calendars, because season 2 is headed to Disney+ on May 14, 2021!

Ahead of the second season premiere, Disney fans can watch the HSMTMTS marathon on Disney Channel. So, mark your calendars because for one day only, all 10 episodes will air on the network on Saturday, May 8, starting at 5 p.m. ET.

What will season 2 be about?

Disney+’s official synopsis teases that “the East High Wildcats, who are preparing to perform Beauty and the Beast as their spring musical, face off against rival school North High to win a prestigious and cutthroat student theater competition. Wigs are snatched, loyalties are tested, and ballads are belted.”

“What’s really cool about this season, is that we have more time now to sort of see … Everyone gets their own world,” Joshua told ET in March 2021. “You get to experience all the characters’ lives and get a little bit of a snippet in each person. That’s actually really exciting to me about the second season, is just how much more we get to see into each character’s personal lives and how they intertwine. It’s really cool.”

“I will say this season has lots more dancing, lots more singing and I personally think that this season is 10 times better than season 1,” Joshua also told PopBuzz. “I’m really excited about this season.”

Which of the original stars will return for season 2?

Everyone can breathe a sigh of relief because all the stars are set to continue their roles for the second season! Olivia told Entertainment Tonight in March 2021 that fans can expect to hear “a really special song I wrote for an episode.”

As for Gina’s storyline, in the same interview, Sofia told ET, “She’s still trying to figure out who she wants to be at East High and what it means for her if she stays or not. There are a lot of new character dynamics that we get to see this season, and I had so much fun being able to act more closely with some of my fellow castmates.”

Will there be any new stars in season 2?

In February 2021, it was announced that Andrew Barth Feldman and Asher Angel would be headed to East High! For his part, Andrew will star as Antoine, a French exchange student. As for Asher, he’s gearing up to star as Jack — “a charming, smooth-talking student with wanderlust,” according to a press release. 

Previously, a bunch of new stars have been added to the already epic cast, including Days of Our Lives alum Olivia Rose Keegan, former Dancing With The Stars pro Derek Hough and Dear Evan Hansen star Roman Banks! Olivia will star as Lily, who according to TV Line is “an energetic and adorable East High freshman whose sweetness masks her insecurity and highly competitive nature.” Derek will play Miss Jenn’s ex-boyfriend, named Zack. From the sounds 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. As for Roman, he’s going to take on the role of Howie, a “hyper-smart, adorkable high school junior who works at Big Red’s family’s pizza shop.”

When it comes to bringing back the OG HSM cast, showrunner Tim told DigitalSpy in December 2020 that “potentially” some familiar faces would return to East High, noting that it’s “more complicated” because of COVID-19.

 

That’s not all. The creator of the show, Tim, revealed back in January 2020 that he wants Zac Efron to make an appearance in the second season of the show! “When we came up with the concept of the show, and I was like, ‘Look, it’s a group of new theater students at this school,’ I didn’t want us to have to get any of the original cast members. I wanted the show to kind of stand on its own two feet,” he explained to DigitalSpy.

But that quickly changed when stars like Lucas Grabeel and KayCee Stroh (who both made guest appearances in season 1) showed interest in the reboot.

“Someone like Lucas is so iconic for a generation, and still has such a brilliant singing voice, that I went to him pretty hard, and kind of got on my hands and knees, and said, ‘Just have coffee with me. I’m going to talk you through this, and tell you why it’s not like you’re going back to high school, but rather like passing the baton,’” he continued. “For KayCee Stroh, who was hired locally on the original movies, and she remains — I mean, she has a big online presence. She’s still a beautiful dancer, and she lives in Salt Lake.”

Although, in Tim’s opinion, it might be “a little early” to invite any original cast members onto set for season two, there is one person that’s at the the top of his wish list.

“I’m always looking to expand the kind of guest star cast, just because I think it’s so fun to see people pop up on the show,” he said. “If you happen to be out and see Zac Efron, please mention it to him. I’d love for him to give me a call.”

Previously, Zac had admitted that he was totally down to make an appearance in the show.

“Absolutely, 100 percent. I don’t see why not,” he told Extra TV. “I’m not, like, committing to it — I didn’t know there was [a new series], but that’s awesome.”

Has any new music been released for season 2?

Yes! In fact, the first look at season 2 debuted with the new song “Something in the Air.” The music video hit YouTube in December 2020, and it was shot in only one take. After watching this, we’re super excited about what’s to come.

“Josh and I always say we’re so grateful to have the opportunity to write for a show that means so much for us,” Olivia told POPSUGAR in April 2021. “It’s just really cool that they believed in us teenagers and let us have so much creative control over the music, which is such an important aspect of the show.”

In a separate interview with EW from May 2021, the actress teased a new track from season two calling it “one of the best songs I’ve written.”

“I’ve always struggled with identity and that only gets more confusing when you start to introduce boys into the equation, which was what Nini is going through and what I’m still going through,” she shared. “It was really important for me to write a song with a message that you’re so much more than what boys think of you. That was something that I actually needed to hear myself in that time. I’m really proud of that song.”

 

 

What was the ‘HSM: The Series: The Holiday Special’?

Before season 2 officially dropped, the entire cast is reunited for High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special on December 11, 2020. The stars sung “renditions of holiday classics, popular hits and a medley of Hanukkah favorites.” They’ll also shared their own stories of holidays past and teased some New Year’s resolutions for 2021!

“The holidays remind us of the universal importance of family and loved ones,” Tim Federle, executive producer and director of the special, said in a statement. “The cast of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is its own kind of family, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to share their favorite holiday music and traditions with our viewers.”

How did season 1 end?

Warning: Spoilers ahead. For those who missed it, the final installment in the show’s first season had a lot of drama. Ricky finally admitted his feelings for Nini and told her he loved her — but when Nini found out that she had secured a spot in Salt Lake City’s most prestigious music school, which would mean she would have to leave East High, fans were left on the edge of their seats wondering what she was going to do! Plus, fans were pretty shook when Ashlyn and Big Red shared in a big ol’ smooch.

What will season 2 be about?

Get excited, people, because the stars of the show will be putting on 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.

“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,” Tim 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.”

“We’re excited about Tim’s plans for the new season,” Ricky Strauss, president of content and marketing at Disney+, also said. “He continues to amaze and surprise us with the relationships and stories he’s creating for this unbelievably talented cast. Season 2 will be filled with even more of the humor, heart and music that made HSMTMTS a break-out series on Disney+.”

What has the cast and crew said about season 2?

So what exactly will go down next season? Well, the cast and crew have already shared a ton of details on what we can expect.

“You know, the first season, we weren’t really sure what the show was. We had no idea what we’re doing, we’re all kind of figuring it out as we go. We filmed different versions. In the first episode, they had us do things a couple different ways because they weren’t even sure how they were going to edit it together, or how it was going to look. We were still figuring out the pacing and the tone and all of that. While we did have fun, and it was very exciting, it was a lot of learning in the first season,” Joshua explained during a recent interview. “Having the first season under your belt, knowing that it’s mostly well received, being able to go back and do a season two, in the groove, knowing what the show is, and even just the writers being able to know the show. Now, the writers’ room is filled with people who are mega fans of the show which is just so awesome. So we’re able to take things to another level because we’re all in the groove. It’s just so exciting, and I think people are really going to love it.”

Tim also spilled some tea on Season 2 of the show.

“Exploring Miss Jenn’s romantic situation is a great headline for one of the things I’m approaching with this character in season two,” he revealed. “We announced that Seb is stepping up as a series regular, so he’ll be in every episode. I’m looking big picture at how we expand the show, so that definitely includes the idea of new characters. Exactly where they’ll land or who they’ll be is still in clay phase. But yeah, generally speaking in second seasons of shows, there are new faces and people to meet, so hopefully we’ll get some of that in our show too.”

The showrunner also promised that Nini and Ricky’s fate will be revealed in the first episode!

“That is such a good question that I can’t wait for viewers of episode 2×01 to discover,” he said when asked what would happen to the couple. “At the very moment she has forgiven Ricky for falling apart on her all those months ago and accepted him back in her life and he’s finally able to say the word ‘love,’ she’s also given this extraordinary opportunity. The first thing she’s thinking is, ‘What am I going to do now?’ which is the very question I hope the audience leaves wondering too.”

As for Ashlyn and Big Red, Tim explained, “One of the things I’m excited about exploring with those two actors, but really with all our actors, is really expanding the show to be the ensemble dramedy-comedy that I think it was always meant to be. I’m trying to portray young love as healthily as possible, but with all of the sloppiness and sadness that goes with it.”

Olivia chatted with HollywoodLife in December 2020 and teased that Nini will go through “a lot of changes in season 2.” Similarly, Sofia teased what’s next for her character, Gina, and she said the teen is “going through it.”

“This season, I think we’re uncovering a lot of who she really is since the first season we kind of peeled back her little wall that she had up. Now we’re seeing all that’s underneath that,” the actress told HolylwoodLife. “So it’s a lot of fun this season. I don’t know what I can actually say, but there’s just a lot of new fun relationships and dynamics that I’ve had so much fun filming because there are a lot of people that I wasn’t able to film with last season, so being able to film with more people this season has been really fun.”