Welcomed with open arms! High School Musical: The Musical: The Series newcomers Saylor Bell and Adrian Lyles have nothing but positive things to say about the show’s “supportive” cast. The talented stars chat with J-14 exclusively about how their new characters — Maddox and Jet, respectively — fit into the third season and recall the “greatest” first day on the set of Camp Shallow Lake.
HSMTMTS season 3 finds the East High Wildcats enjoying a summer in the great outdoors as they perform Frozen at Camp Shallow Lake. Not only will viewers get a chance to see their favorite characters but some new faces as well.
“She is classic — been to this camp all her life, like a geek about it, obsessed with the camp every year. And she, kind of, from the get go is that way, but she has a really hard time fitting in with all these Wildcats that are showing up, and making this place that she knows so well a new environment,” Saylor, 18, tells J-14 about Maddox. “She tries really hard to, kind of, get close, become friends, and there’s a lot of struggles along the way. I’m really excited for everyone to see how these relationships evolve into something like friendships and more.”
Similarly, Adrian’s Jet is a HSMTMTS newcomer, but he’s not as excited about being at Camp Shallow Lake. The actor, 17, refers to his role as the “snarky polar opposite” compared to Maddox.
“He’s someone who doesn’t wanna be at this camp. He hates this. He doesn’t wanna sing, he doesn’t want to dance. He doesn’t wanna be around all of these passionate people, and he’d much rather just be by himself playing his game,” Adrian explains to J-14. “I think that that’s what makes Jet really cool is seeing him continuously jump out of his comfort zone, and whether that’s him doing it on his own or being forced to do so, I think that it grows Jet in such a beautiful way.”
One major message throughout the third season of HSMTMTS is growth, something which both Maddox and Jet experience throughout the season. Without giving spoilers, Adrian shares that Jet “jumps back into what he jumped out of when it comes to singing and when it comes to doing art in front of people.”
He adds, “It’s gonna be beautiful to see unfold, because I think he’s a character with so many layers.”
Saylor, for her part, teases that “deep down, Maddox is just this awkward little human being,” but she also gets a chance to “grow in herself” throughout the season. “She also helps these other characters grow into who they are and realize things about them,” she shares. “So, I like to think that while she’s working on herself, she’s also there to help others work on them too.”
Both actors reveal that they were “nervous” before stepping on the HSMTMTS season 3 set, but they ended up having “one of the greatest first days on set.” Adrian gushes, “It was definitely a day that I’ll never forget, and it was a whole lot of fun because they are so supportive, and so welcoming.”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 3 premieres on Disney+ on Wednesday, July 27.
Love J-14? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for fun, exclusive videos with your favorite stars.
