High School Musical: The Musical: The Series will make its grand return on August 9, with all eight episodes dropping at once on Disney+. The final season of the show is sure to be a standout, as it creates a High School Musical 4 meta-film and brings back original cast members Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, Lucas Grabeel, Bart Johnson, Alyson Reed​, and Kaycee Stroh. However, one of its most significant and highly-anticipated aspects is the romance between Ricky (Joshua Bassett) and Gina (Sofia Wylie) finally coming to fruition.

While the show was originally founded on Ricky and Nini's (Olivia Rodrigo) relationship, the natural chemistry between Ricky and Gina changed the trajectory of the series for creator Tim Federle. The season 3 finale saw the two confess their feelings and share a long-awaited kiss seconds before the credits rolled. Now that High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is officially coming to an end, it's only fitting that the central romance be explored in its full capacity.

RELATED: Where to Watch High School Musical: The Musical: The Series

Tim Federle chats exclusively with Screen Rant about Ricky and Gina's surprising journey, the Wildcats' upcoming performance of High School Musical 3: Senior Year, and whether the characters could return after the series comes to an end. 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 WGA and SAG-AFTRA.

Tim Federle Talks High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 4

Screen Rant: The characters are going to be featured extras in High School Musical 4. Several members of the original cast have obviously been involved with the show before, but how was being able to bring so many of them back for this?

Tim Federle: It was High School Musical explosion. We're sometimes shooting at East Hight itself, and so we'll take over the real life teacher lounge as the actor holding area. We were looking around the room and were like, "There's Ms. Darbus, and there's Coach Bolton, and there's Chad and Taylor, but there's also Ricky and Gina. It was really special, and I think [captures] the vibe of what season 4 really is, which is the celebration of the franchise, and a real graduation season.

Well, we have to talk about Ricky and Gina! As the creator, did you ever imagine that this relationship would become, not just so important to fans, but to the show and these characters as a whole?

Tim Federle: I don't know if I did. People have heard me talk about growing up with Dawson's Creek, and so I have a real affection for these types of will-they-won't-they shows that were important to me. I am a big believer that, with rare exceptions, your first love does not end up being your last love, and I think Ricky and Gina needed to separately go on their very important, beautiful journeys with others before they were able to really find each other. I think the question of season 4, the final season, is that they're the right people for each other, but is it the right timing? That's what we really try to answer. But gosh, it's so fun to write for Josh and Sofia. They're just amazing.

There's actually something that fans have been dying to hear your take on—they named it the "Rina cue." How did Ricky and Gina end up having that ongoing instrumental throughout the show?

Tim Federle: I love that cue written by Gabriel Mann, Emmy nominee, I think for our show. The Rina cue—that's so funny, that phrase. They're in the homecoming car, and I remember saying to Gabe, "Spend some real time on this cue, because if this works out, we may bring this back a lot." It's a really beautiful, simple piano cue that actually comes back, as you might be able to imagine, a couple of times, at least, in season 4. I grew up in an era with media where there'll be a romantic movie, and there'll be a song, and it'll be called, like, "Sarah's Theme." [Laughs] I'm dating myself.

And so I thought, "Wouldn't it be cool if the star couple of this show had their own theme?" It's a little vintage and throwback, and not every show does it anymore, but I think they are the beating heart of the romance of the show for me. Giving them their own theme is a signal to the audience that they are important and worth paying attention to. And I just think it's a really beautiful tune that comes in and out throughout season 4. The Rina cue! I learned something today.

High School Musical 3 is definitely the fan favorite of the trilogy for a lot of people who grew up watching the movies. Were there certain songs or performances that you really wanted to make sure you included?

Tim Federle: There are so many great songs in High School Musical 3, and boy did they back the money wagon up for that movie, because it's really high production values and so many songs. I was very excited to see Frankie and Dara sing "I Want it All." That's, like, a spoiler, and I don't even care because you see it in the trailer. Those two characters, that song—really exciting. There's, of course, some Josh-Sofia stuff. People have been requesting the song "Scream" for years, so tune in on August 9th [and] binge.

Season 4 drops all at once—hopefully you'll stay up long enough to see "Scream." They were all really cool songs to explore. You're the only outlet I'm telling this to, which is that the episodes this season are, in some cases, a bit longer than they've been in previous seasons because we have so much stuff to stuff in, so many stories to pay off, and so many songs to sing. I hope people really feel how much love we put into this because we wanted to give the fans and the cast that sort of endgame experience.

Looking back, what has been your favorite storyline to explore throughout the seasons?

Tim Federle: Oh my goodness. I think any storyline about identity. Whether it's Carlos and his body issues at summer camp, Kourtney with anxiety, Ricky, who's a very clingy, loving person who comes from a divorced family, [or] Gina who hides her vulnerability behind competitiveness. Unfortunately, I could go through all these stories. Ashlyn and Big Red, and their sort of burgeoning queer identities.

All of those stories matter and resonate with me because, as much as I think of the show as a dramedy with some broad comic moments, it's really that high school experience of figuring out who you are that's most emotional and really leaves an impact on the audience, and those are the stories that really excite me. Or EJ! I could just talk about them all, but EJ with college and his dad and wanting to live up to the family legacy—these things are, I think, really topical for young people. Those are the stories that I'm really proud we got to be able to tell.

What about performances? Do you have an all-time favorite?

Tim Federle: I will always sentimentally love "Born to be Brave." I won't call it a favorite, but it was the episode that I felt was really the intersection of emotionality and identity and music and relationships and soapiness but comedy. I'm really proud of that homecoming episode and the whole team that made it. I think the theme of "Born to be Brave"—as a gay person who was not out of the closet in high school, it was not a safe thing to be in the late 90s—I'm so proud we finally live in an era, with its own challenges, believe me, where an actor like Frankie Rodriguez and Joe Serafini can bring a story like that to life and dance together in a high school gym, which is actually so innocent. I wish I had that innocence when I was in high school, and I'm so proud we got to sing that song.

All good things must come to an end, but fans are already asking—do you think that we could ever see these characters again in one form or another?

Tim Federle: Oh, yeah. Yes, of course—in a "never say never" way. Right now, we're all really focused on August 9. I want season 4 to be our biggest season ever. I want this cast to feel celebrated. Gary Marsh is the former president of Disney Channel, now the incredible Ayo Davis, but Gary said to me, "We tried to reboot High School Musical for 10 years, and we couldn't figure it out." I feel very lucky that I apparently had a take that worked, but who knows what's going to happen in 5 years? 10 years? College? There are a lot of different places we could take these characters, but for now, they're definitely graduating from high school, and I hope the audience tunes in and graduates with us.

Did this feel like the right time, creatively, for you to end [the show]? Especially with Ricky graduating and the characters performing High School Musical 3?

Tim Federle: It did for so many reasons. Creatively, because he was graduating, and because there are some couples and romances that finally start to come together this season where I was like, "I don't want to see this get ruined." But also, creatively, because I have multiple showrunner friends whose shows end on a cliffhanger, and they don't get renewed, and the fans are upset, and the cast is upset. I really felt like, as a tribute to Disney and the fans and this incredible cast and crew, that we ought to go out on our terms. I think, if you watch season 4 to the end, and I hope people do, they'll see that we really tried to thank everyone on screen and also wrap this thing up and graduate.

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 other interviews with the cast of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series here:

• Dara Reneé, Frankie Rodriguez, & Julia Lester
• Kylie Cantrall

All 8 episodes of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 4 premiere Wednesday, August 9 on Disney+.

Source: Screen Rant Plus