This review was made possible by advance screeners of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 4 (Episodes 1-6). High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 4 releases on Disney+ on Wednesday, August 9th.
The Wildcats are back, and I couldn’t be happier! Season 4 is full of elements that have made High School Musical: The Musical: The Series the one we know and love, building up to what I hope will be a satisfactory ending for the show’s fanbase. From Rina, to OG Wildcats to huge musical productions – this season has it all (and more), with 6 episodes watched, it is the perfect opportunity to share all of my spoiler-free thoughts ahead of the final season premiering on Disney+ next week.
A Season To Remember
Season 4 builds upon what Season 3 did so well, telling a consistent and enjoyable story filled with some wonderful performances, whilst featuring songs old, and new. Tim Federle, once again behind the scenes has worked his socks off to deliver a classic, and I truly think everyone can enjoy this season – whether they’re watching, hopeful of Zac Efron appearing with a 2006 wig on, or those who have watched this show religiously since it’s launch in 2019.
The progression of this season means that it doesn’t feel like the final chapter of the show up until halfway through the season which I didn’t know how to feel about at first. The show goes from feeling like they could do another 1-2 seasons at one point, but then, it is very clear that this is a swan song for our beloved Wildcats and all good things must come to an end. The final two episodes which remain unwatched will be key for any farewells to these beloved characters, with a lot to be wrapped up…
The show’s writing compared to prior ones feels to have taken a step up, with deserved praise headed to each of the show’s writing staff, including Ilana Wolpert, Ann Kim, Elizabeth Kiernen Averick, Nneka Gerstle and Chandler Turk. I couldn’t praise the show’s writing without honouring showrunner Tim Federle. I cannot wait to see what he does once the show concludes, especially after how much I enjoyed his directorial debut Better Nate Than Ever.
I must point out that it is crazy that Disney+ is releasing this all in one go, I think it has the quality and an overall high level of enjoyment to have had a weekly release model. As to why Disney made the decision, we will never know, unfortunately…
Wildcats Forever
I have absolutely loved watching this cast from the first season up until today, and it is mind-boggling to see it coming to an end. All of them deliver good performances, with some shining more than others throughout key moments in the season, whether the script requires a more mature, dramatic performance or if someone is singing their heart out with a guitar in hand.
Dara Reneé’s Kourtney gets some well-deserved screen time throughout the duration of Season 4, and rightfully so! As she begins to prepare for life post-East High, aims to perfect any college applications she sends, balancing the school musical and the movie alongside everything. Episode 5, titled “Admissions”, written by Nneka Gerstle, puts Kourtney front and centre, and I think it could be one of the best-written episodes of the show ever. It is a superb episode of television. I look forward to her role in the upcoming Disney+ film, Descendants: The Rise of Red, which she’ll star in alongside Kylie Cantrall, who joins the show this season.
I really hope this is the start of a bright career for Liamani Segura, who once again kills it as Emmy, last seen in Season 3 as a Camp Shallow Lake camper. Season 4 brings Emmy to East High and has some great moments, both when performing and when acting alongside the rest of the cast, especially Kate Reinders‘ Miss Jenn. Emmy provides plenty of comic relief from the outset, she has some hilarious scenes as she shares witty, “insider knowledge” throughout the season.
A small number of familiar faces return to High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, whether it’s a flashback or popping up in a scene out of the blue, which was great to see. Including a beloved character, who will require audiences to be buckled up for their return… I was so glad to see more of Larry Saperstein’s Big Red this time around, compared to his small role in Season 3, but Disney really needs to give us a whole spin-off featuring the tap dancer at this point.
Rina.
After seasons of Portwell vs. Rini, the true victor finished on top! As the pairing “Rina”, Joshua Bassett and Sofia Wylie’s Ricky Bowen and Gina Porter are both excellent actors, performers, dancers… etc. The list could go on forever, both of their performances in this season bring so much heart and joy to the season. The pair begin the season as a secret relationship which definitely makes things interesting once The Wildcats become engrossed within the production of “High School Musical 4” as well as other characters, who may or may not get in the couple’s way along the way this season.
New Faces
Kylie Cantrall joins the season as influencer Dani, who finds herself as one of the leads in “High School Musical 4” as the main leads. Inspired by a range of modern-day influencers, as well as a striking resemblance in many ways to Singing in the Rain‘s Lina Lamont, Cantrall brings a hilarious comedic element to the character, alongside a much more serious performance from her screen partner, Matthew Sato.
Sato, plays Mack – a snobbish, child-sitcom actor who becomes very involved with the Wildcats thanks to his leading role in the film. We know from the released clip that Mack will eventually share a kiss with Gina, and Rina fans should keep a close eye on the actor,
Indie director Quinn, played by comic Caitlin Reilly, has an incredibly prominent role throughout the season as she works on the fourth High School Musical film, despite having never seen any of the films. Quinn is very stereotypical for a modern, indie director and it is Reilly’s characterisation which brings the character to life, hilariously. Whether it’s mistaking Miss Jenn for a PA, or cutting a cast member from the film for asking if she’s won any Oscars (when she hasn’t) is just really fun to watch.
The Music
High School Musical 3: Senior Year features so many great songs, so I was ecstatic to find out this season would involve a number of songs from the film. Whilst I haven’t seen the show’s performance of HSM3 just yet, the songs featured in the first 6 episodes are all wonderful, including a certain ballad duet which went down a surprise!
A Halloween-themed episode offers a spooky group performance within the corridors of East High that will most definitely be popping up on my Spotify Wrapped at the end of the year, alongside a few other songs. I don’t think Season 4’s original music is as good as some of the prior season’s soundtrack, but there weren’t any songs I particularly disliked, but nothing will ever top “Second Chance” or “You Ain’t Seen Nothing” from Season 2.
As I mentioned, the show begins with a musical performance taken from “High School Musical 4: The Reunion” and it is such a bop! Really feels like a High School Musical song, as if it could have come from a real film and it was so much fun seeing some OG actors performing as their HSM characters for the first time in 15 years.
The OG Wildcats Are Back! (Well Most…)
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series has had a small roster of actors from the original film series return on separate occasions, and it always felt like it was building to something, which is finally paid off in Season 4. Lucas Grabeel and Kaycee Stroh first showed up in Season 1, which led to Corbin Bleu’s extensive role in Season 3, which set the stage for the three returning alongside Bart Johnson, Alyson Reed and Monique Coleman for Season 4.
The idea of the actors playing themselves, to then have them reprise their original HSM roles was certainly an interesting one, and makes for a really enjoyable plot point. The show’s opening scene, as if we’re watching the film “High School Musical 4: The Reunion” was an interesting angle to open the show, but in typical meta fashion for the show – works really well.
The most impactful performance, for me, was Alyson Reed. There are a number of occasions where she is acting alongside the main cast, and her screen presence just radiates joy. They all look like they’re having the time of their lives working with such an iconic part of the trilogy and it pays off – it was so great to have Ms. Darbus back for this special season.
I will say I did expect the OG Wildcats to take up a huge proportion of the season’s storyline, however, the show balances their presence alongside the rest of the show, really once. It never felt as if any storyline was overshadowing another, which really helps with the pacing of the season and the progression of its plot.
An incredibly wild take, but as much as I’d love to see even more of the OG Wildcats (big names like Ashley Tisdale, Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron etc.), I think the roster we have featured this season fits their purpose and work really well without a larger group alongside them, especially given the cameo status of their roles. There is still hope that this season somewhat inspires Kenny Ortega (alongside Tim Federle??) for a real HSM reunion film.
‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ Season 4 – Final Thoughts
I really think the season is going to stick the landing and deliver a tremendous final chapter for this show. It feels right to end on such a high, and I cannot wait to see those two final episodes on release day, it really is Now or Never! Some superb writing throughout the season gives it some of the show’s best moments and performances, alongside it too.
Check out the trailer for High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 4 below:
