Summary
- High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is returning for its fourth and final season, with all eight episodes dropping at once for binge-watching.
- Ashlyn's exploration of her sexuality will continue in the final season, showing the ongoing process of self-discovery.
- The characters will have the chance to be featured extras in the upcoming High School Musical 4, but the realities of a Hollywood production may not live up to their expectations.
The wait is almost over, as High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is returning for its fourth and final season on Wednesday, August 9. Unlike previous years, Disney+ will drop all eight installments simultaneously, so viewers can binge the last batch of episodes in one sitting. The show picks up after the Wildcats' eventful summer at Camp Shallow Lake, with many key plot points carrying over into the new season. While Ashlyn (Julia Lester) had an important realization about her sexuality, Kourtney (Dara Reneé) and Carlos (Frankie Rodriguez) were both caught off guard by the final cut of the Frozen documentary.
In addition to putting on High School Musical 3: Senior Year with Miss Jenn, the characters will have the opportunity to be featured extras in the upcoming High School Musical 4. However, being part of a real Hollywood production might not be as glamorous as the Wildcats expect. Joshua Bassett, Sofia Wylie, Kate Reinders, and Liamani Segura are also series regulars, with special guest appearances from High School Musical alumni Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, Lucas Grabeel, Bart Johnson, Alyson Reed, and Kaycee Stroh.
Stars Dara Reneé, Frankie Rodriguez, and Julia Lester chat exclusively with Screen Rant about their characters' upcoming storylines and reflect on their time on the show. Note: This interview was conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike, and the show covered here would not exist without the labor of the writers and actors in both WGA and SAG-AFTRA.
Dara Reneé, Frankie Rodriguez & Julia Lester Talk HSMTMTS Season 4
Screen Rant: Congratulations on four amazing seasons of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series! Julia, last season, Ashlyn had an important discovery about her sexuality. Is that something we'll get to see her explore more in the final batch of episodes?
Julia Lester: Yeah, absolutely. I always say that high schoolers are constantly growing and evolving, sometimes on a daily basis, and we just got to see a little glimpse of all of these people's lives last season. It was two weeks over the summer, and we're going into a full new semester of high school which brings its own challenges and self-discoveries and growth.
That was definitely not the end of Ashlyn's queer storyline. There's still so much to discover. Even after the season is over, people can just imagine the kind of self-discovery she will continue to do for the rest of her life. Even me—as a queer woman—I am constantly evolving and discovering new parts of myself every day, so I think that also rings true for Ashlyn, for sure.
Dara, I don't know if you've noticed, but fans really were enjoying the dynamic between your character and Jet last season. Do you and Adrian [Lyles] have any scenes that they can look forward to?
Dara Reneé: Good question! First of all, I love all my Jetney stans! I see ya'll, I'm here with y'all, we are together. First of all, Adrian is an amazing human being, and I'm so grateful to share the screen with such a talent and such a kind person. There's a lot of fun stuff in season 4, so keep your eyes out. A lot of stuff is going to take you for a little loop, but in the best way.
Frankie, what about Carlos? Might the documentary cause some issues for him this season?
Frankie Rodriguez: Oh my goodness. From what we saw at the end of last season, it's like a real Real Housewives episode going into this next season. I think it'll be a fun little test for Carlos and Seb.
Lastly, with this being the final season, what can you each say about your experience on the show?
Julia Lester: It's the last season?! Nobody told us! [Laughs] No, it has been the most incredible four years of our entire lives, and the best part is that we have made lifelong friendships that will literally never break apart. We call each other best friends, but it's really true. These are the people that you call up first when something great happens and when something bad happens.
They're going to be in my wedding party, and they are the people that you carry with you for life. So that's been the biggest takeaway. The show might be ending, but our friendship will remain forever. This is not a goodbye for us. And thank God we all live within a 10-mile radius of each other, so we'll be annoying each other for forever.
Frankie Rodriguez: One thing I always said about this experience was I feel like I hit the lottery when it comes to working with people and everybody is just so fun and so incredibly talented. I feel like I get to learn constantly from them. And so that's going to be my biggest takeaway. I have all of these people.
Dara Reneé: Exactly. Same. Being able to not only film with such talents and learn from them, but also know that they're nice—it's so fun. It's really a party every day on set, plus your favorite childhood songs. What gets better than that, honestly?
About High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 4
After an epic summer at Camp Shallow Lake, the Wildcats return to East High where they prepare a stage production of “High School Musical 3: Senior Year.” But plans are disrupted when Principal Gutierrez announces that Disney has decided to make the long-awaited “High School Musical 4: The Reunion” movie on location at their beloved high school, and the Wildcats will play featured extras in the movie.
Check out our other interviews with the cast of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 4 here:
All 8 episodes of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 4 premiere Wednesday, August 9 on Disney+.
Source: Screen Rant Plus