All the DetailsWill Olivia Rodrigo Return for ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ Season 3? What We Know

A Recurring Role

Yes, Olivia will be returning, but it’s in a recurring capacity, according to Entertainment Tonight. 

Continuing Her Acting Career

“I really don’t know where my career’s going to go in the next five years or in the next 10,” Olivia told GQ in August 2021. “I’m really grateful that I get to be [acting and singing] now. I just think it’s about finding projects and writing songs I feel really passionate about.”

Olivia’s Career

“What I will say is, it’s hard to imagine High School Musical without Olivia, but Olivia is also experiencing a level of success and fame and opportunity that I would never want to stand in the way of,” Tim also told EW. “I want the show to succeed, but the actors who make the show are always more important to me than the product. I guess what I mean is, I want Olivia to be happy. I’d love for her to keep making the show, but at the end of the day I’m there to be both the head cheerleader of my series and also read the moment and say, ‘Wow, what Olivia is going through feels so unprecedented that I just want to support her in all of her dreams.'”

Keeping It Open

“I think things are open-ended actually for a number of characters just because you want the maximum flexibility going forward,” Tim also said during an interview with HollywoodLife in July 2021. “Look, I have so much respect for Olivia as a songwriter and as a human and what her own dreams are. I love High School Musical with Olivia. I think Olivia is a massive part of our success, but I think season 3 is sort of a TBD in terms of where Nini’s journey would go.”

Predicting Her Success

“It’s an odd kind of thing because TV airs so much later than when you shoot it, that I can imagine that the perception is, ‘Oh my gosh, they’re just copying Olivia’s life.’ When in reality, we would write something and then it would come true six months later,” Tim explained to Parade in July 2021. “Reflecting on it, it’s a strange, strange dynamic.”

Thinking About the Future

“I would never want Olivia to think we’re stealing from her life,” Tim also told TVLine. “We write these scripts six months before we shoot them, and it’s amazing how art imitates life. But I definitely think Jamie is here to shake things up for Nini’s future.”

Nini’s Journey

“I wanted the character to center herself and not choose the boy,” Tim shared with Collider in July 2021. “To hold onto the boy and to hold onto her boyfriend, as she went on this journey, but to also make sure she put herself first, which I think is a story that’s important for young women, and really all of us, to see portrayed on screen. At the end of the day, if you’re lucky enough to write for Olivia Rodrigo, you don’t want her too far away for too long.”

Saying Goodbye

“I think she’s ready to explore the world outside the halls of East High,” showrunner Tim told Entertainment Tonight in July 2022. “And Olivia herself was having such a monumental explosion in the music industry that it felt like the right thing to, frankly, work with Olivia to say, ‘How do we get you out there into the world with us taking a little bit more of a backseat?’ Which we were all proud to do to support her.”

He added, “And so this season it’s about trying to give her character a proper sendoff while also leaving room for other characters to really step into the fray and step into the spotlight. And personally, it’s a joy to see Olivia’s music explode in such a big way. It was so fun to have her back and reminisce on the beginning.”