High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 3 will see a familiar face return to the franchise as Corbin Bleu arrives to play himself. One of the first original shows to premiere on Disney+ when it first launched in 2019, HSMTMTS has become perhaps the most surprising of the streamer’s offerings. Instead of acting as a sequel to the High School Musical movies, the show is set within the real world and focuses on a new group of musical-loving theater kids. HSMTMTS season 2 further helped the show stand on its own by focusing on East High’s efforts to put on their own production of Beauty and the Beast.
In doing so, Ricky (Joshua Bassett), Gina (Sofia Wylie), and the rest of the Wildcats’ drama club found themselves in a rivalry with the ultra-competitive North High. Though HSMTMTS season 2 took that feud in a surprising direction, season 3 will still hold some lingering plot threads in the form of Lily (Olivia Rose Keegan), who sabotaged East High’s Beauty and the Beast in a way no one knows about as of yet. Additionally, HSMTMTS season 3, which takes place during the summertime, will feature the return of Olivia Rodrigo following her breakout success as a solo artist.
On Tuesday, Disney+ revealed filming on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 3 has officially kicked off in Los Angeles. This time around, the Wildcats will be putting on a production of Disney’s own Frozen as they attend Camp Shallow Lake, a family-owned sleepaway camp in California. To further celebrate the news, the streamer revealed 5 key cast members who will be joining the returning stars. Of the new faces, fans will likely be most excited to hear Corbin Bleu, High School Musical‘s own Chad Danforth, will guest as himself. He follows in the footsteps of fellow HSM alum Lucas Grabeel, who appeared in season 1.
As for the rest of the newcomers, Adrian Lyles and Saylor Bell (I Didn’t Do It) have both been added as series regulars; Lyles will play Jet, Camp Shallow Lake’s mysterious new kid, while Bell plays Maddox, a bright-eyed, rule-following techie. HSMTMTS season 3’s additional guest stars include Meg Donnelly (ZOMBIES) as Val, a camper-turned-counselor at Camp Shallow Lake, and Jason Earles (Hannah Montana) as Dewey Wood, the killjoy camp director at Shallow Lake. According to Disney+, HSMTMTS season 3 will continue to include music from High School Musical, and it’ll also feature tunes from Frozen and, interestingly, Camp Rock.
This is a lot to unpack for HSMTMTS fans. Bleu’s involvement is pretty thrilling and further connects the series to its predecessors, even if he won’t be playing Chad. Those who grew up watching the original High School Musical movies will also likely get a kick out of seeing Earles, since he was a Disney Channel mainstay himself thanks to his role as Jackson on Hannah Montana. Between Bleu, Earles, and the surprise inclusion of Camp Rock songs, it sounds like HSMTMTS season 3 will be the ultimate Disney Channel throwback. Let the nostalgia begin.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 3 premieres in 2022 on Disney+.
