‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ Season 3 Review

This review was made possible by Disney+ providing Episodes 1-2 of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 3. The first episode of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 3 arrives exclusively on Disney+ on Wednesday, July 27th

What time is it? It’s summertime! This summer, we head to Camp Shallow Lake to join up with the Wildcats after what has felt like forever! Here is my review of the first two episodes of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 3 to! There’s lots to love in this season, and it’s definitely going to be a fun one…

The Start of Something New (and Better?)

I think one of the first things that came to realisation when I started watching this season was how vastly different it is, both in setting and themes when compared to the show’s second season. Placing the Wildcats into a new setting and introducing new characters felt like the sort of soft reboot this show has needed following Season 2.

Whilst on the topic of new characters, there is a plentiful amount who all bring different dynamics to the series, and offer a refreshing feel to the show’s ensemble, despite absences from some fan favourites, including Larry Saperstein’s Big Red and Joe Serafini’s Seb. The two main additions to the series’ ensemble are Saylor Bell Curda’s Maddox and Adrian Lyles’ Jet. Maddox is a Camp Shallow Lake regular, whilst Jet is the mysterious new boy. Both add two very different perspectives to the camp’s production of Frozen, one being very outspoken, whilst the other hides away – I’ll let you decide who’s who.

Zombies alum Meg Donnelly also joins the season as Val, a camp counsellor-in-training who provides a more mature outlook on things at the camp. I think Donnelly was always one of the strongest parts of the Zombies franchise, so it is great to see her make the jump to another Disney+ franchise. Whilst there isn’t a lot of her in the first two episodes, I think she will be a great addition moving forward.

Alongside the new recruits is Hannah Montana star Jason Earles, who plays Dewey Wood the camp’s director. Earles is seemingly already familiar with the cast as he spent the first two seasons of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series as the cast’s acting coach. Dewey is a fun, awkward character that I think audiences will really like!

Good For You, Nini.

One of my biggest critiques for High School Musical: The Musical: The Series‘ second season was the evident elephant in the room – Nini Salazar-Roberts, played by global pop superstar Olivia Rodrigo.

Flashback to May 2021, as the second season’s second episode was airing and Olivia Rodrigo debuted her first solo album, ‘Sour’. The album went on to become the longest-reigning number-one album by a female artist in 2021 – it was huge. One of Nini’s storylines in the show’s last season saw her heading to Denver to join the Youth Actors’ Conservatory, which lasts for about 4 days, until she becomes homesick. A complete waste of time.

Whilst I don’t know if she’ll be in much more of the season, Olivia Rodrigo does appear as Nini in the first two episodes of the season as she visits California with her mums. Completely separated from the rest of the Wildcats, Nini’s story is very isolated and she is only onscreen when she has a nice catch-up with Miss Jenn (Kate Reinders), or when she is introduced to an old family friend,  Marvin played by Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

The scenes themselves don’t take too much time away from the show’s main storyline at the camp, but do allow for breathers at times. I absolutely loved Jesse Tyler Ferguson in Modern Family so it was great to see him show up and bring something a little different to the show.

Things Just Got Meta: The Musical: The Series

If things weren’t meta enough, this season takes things to another level, maybe something in a similar essence to Inception. There is a joke in the second episode that will take social media by storm, and it is so funny seeing the show making fun of itself with a really self-aware joke.

Not only is the show becoming self-aware, but another OG Wildcat earns himself a role. Following Lucas Grabeel and Kacey Stroh appearing in the show’s first season, Corbin Bleu makes his debut as himself as he is introduced to the campmates ahead of their Frozen musical. To make things even more complicated, Bleu is responsible (alongside Ben Stillwell’s Channing) for the docuseries about Camp Shallow Lake’s production of Frozen. Make of that what you will…

The Music

You can’t have a musical without the songs and Season 3 delivers. There are a good mix of new, original music alongside songs from the Frozen, Camp Rock and High School Musical franchises – and whilst I won’t spoil the songs, I will say that the selection used is great.

What I will say is if there isn’t a performance of “Gotta Find You” or “Introducing Me” this season from one of the male leads (Ricky or EJ), then we riot.

Ahead of the show’s release, Disney released a clip from an upcoming episode titled Color War, featuring the group singing their own rendition of “It’s On”, from Camp Rock 2, and if that doesn’t perfectly sell the vibe and sheer enjoyment of the season, then I don’t know what will. Something very exciting to look forward to.

Second Chance To Fly

I wholeheartedly think the first season of this show will always be great. Having re-watched it a few times since its initial release, there is a lot required for a season to match the first’s stature. Season 2 evidently missed on reaching that level massively, but I do believe (just like the Season 2 song) there is a second chance that this could be the one to reach the heights of the first.

From only seeing two episodes, there is a lot to really enjoy and appreciate from the season. The same lovable characters, tied up with new ones. A new setting which adds a new lease of life, and some really good original music, and of course, the songs from Frozen, Camp Rock, and High School Musical, who could forget those!

Final Thoughts

An incredibly promising start to the season, and a clear increase in quality from the show’s second season. Season 3 brings in new likeable characters, whilst also bringing back fan favourites. There’s plenty of songs from three incredible franchises prepping us for what is set to be a great summer! I Camp Believe How Much I Loved It

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 3, Episode 1 arrives exclusively on Disney+ on Wednesday, July 27th