The members of East High School's drama club clearly didn't get the memo that summer vacation is supposed to be about relaxation.
Season 3 of the Disney+ series "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" moved the show's action to the idyllic Camp Shallow Lake. While some of the show's principal cast only appeared sporadically this year, fan favorites Gina (Sofia Wylie), Ricky (Joshua Bassett), Kourtney (Dara Reneé), Ashlyn (Julia Lester) and Carlos (Frankie A. Rodriguez) spent their summer as Shallow Lake campers while E.J. (Matt Cornett) served as a counselor.
It turned out that Shallow Lake had also been selected to stage a camper-led version of "Frozen: The Musical" that original "High School Musical" star Corbin Bleu (appearing as himself) would be filming as part of a Disney+ documentary. Between the pressures of putting on a show, starring in their own movie and the natural raging of teenage hormones, quite a bit went down over the last eight episodes.
The Season 3 finale hit Disney+ earlier this week and ended with Bleu inadvertently dropping multiple bombs that upended a few characters' personal lives while also helping to ignite a romance that had been waiting to blossom since the show's inaugural season.
Now that the dust has settled, the Post-Gazette caught up with "HSMTMTS" creator and Pittsburgh-area native Tim Federle to talk about how everything played out, dealing with his young cast's growing profiles, what to expect in Season 4 and more.
(This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)
Q: So, tell me about the decision to set the action at summer camp.
A: Season 2, we had an amazing experience. But it was challenging. It was pre-vaccine COVID. It was Salt Lake, and most of us aren't from Salt Lake, so we were away from home for a year. With Season 3, I saw an opportunity for a reboot and refresh to return to our joyful roots.
That's what we set out to accomplish: a fun season under the sun and stars.
Q: Certain actors kept shuffling in and out throughout the season, including Olivia Rodrigo and Joe Serafini. How tough was it figuring out the logistics of who was going to be available and when?
A: As the cast becomes frankly more and more famous, which is thrilling to see, they have music tours and other projects to promote.
Sometimes I think I'm too talent friendly and I want them all to have all their dreams come true, even if it means I have to write them out of the show fast. It's a challenge, but it's a challenge that we're honored to have. These young people grew up on camera on this, so I just want to help them in any way I can.
Q: How'd you settle on "Frozen: The Musical" for this year's big show?
A: Such a message of sisterhood to start, which I thought was interesting for these characters, especially Ashlyn, Gina, Kourtney, Maddox (series newcomer Saylor Bell). We're a show that likes to revel in the dumb, and I think a "Frozen" musical in the summer is the ultimate dumb.
Q: How fun and/or tough is it mapping out in advance which songs from the main musical are most thematic for which character/characters?
A: I actually sometimes think that the smaller the sandbox, the taller the castle. When you can sing everything, it's overwhelming. But when you see Dara as Elsa, I felt like the image of a powerful Black woman as a Disney queen would be great for the audience. It also felt like "Let It Go" could be a powerful metaphor for her anxiety.
It sometimes works magically, but it's a lot of hours in the writers room mapping that stuff out.
Q: Though E.J. and Gina only got together in the Season 2 finale, it became apparent pretty quickly that this summer was going to test them. Was that fun or difficult to orchestrate and watch play out?
A: Not all couples can be together forever. I think E.J. and Gina are an amazing couple. Timing is everything in a relationship, especially a young relationship. I think of Season 3 as two incredible characters played by two incredible actors who are in different places. E.J. is saying goodbye to his childhood and Gina is embracing childlike wonder. I don't think that equals the perfect relationship.
I actually saw it as a really humane way of saying even two people who love each other and could be good together, if they're not in the same head space, it'll never work out.
And then there's good-ol', reliable Ricky in the background, making Gina laugh and being there for her while respecting their boundaries.
Q: Great segue, because we left Ricky and Gina in a pretty definitive place in the development of their budding romance. Are you excited to explore them as an actual couple next season?
A: Gina and Ricky have been a slow burn since Season 1. There was a forbidden element of their relationship that suddenly is not forbidden. These actors are so compelling and powerful and can play all this material. There's a world of opportunity for them to explore.
Q: This was a particularly inclusive season for LGBTQ+ representation, especially with Maddox and Ashlyn's storylines. Was it important to you to up the ante in that regard this year?
A: It felt natural to do. From Season 1, I had a notion and a thought that we'd explore queer storylines beyond Carlos and Seb (Serafini). I've watched the last couple of years as the definition of queer and the next generation is more bravely, boldly, proudly and without apology exploring their identities.
I think certainly any show about a group of theater kids better have a strong, queer heartbeat to it. Any stories about Gen Z need to share that heartbeat, and I think this show is trying to do that.
Q: It was recently revealed that Season 4 will find the Wildcats putting on a stage production of "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" while also being a part of the fictitious "High School Musical 4: The Reunion" movie as it films at East High. What should fans expect in terms of dipping back into the "High School Musical" well in the most explicit way since Season 1?
A: "High School Musical" is what gave us our start. We're back at East High, and there's a lot to celebrate and cover. "High School Musical 3" is a big-budget movie that we're excited to do our spin on. "High School Musical 4" is very meta and the movie fans may or may not ever get, so we're excited to give it to them in this way.
