High School Musical: The Musical: The Series will allow Olivia Rodrigo to have a proper sendoff before she departs the show. Rodrigo stars as Nini, who is cast as the lead in East High School’s production of High School Musical in season 1 before she’s demoted to playing background roles, including a fork in Beauty and the Beast. By the end of HSMTMTS season 2, Nini finds herself with an opportunity to leave high school behind and move to Los Angeles to chase her dream of making it big.
Rodrigo had few acting credits to her name when High School Musical: The Musical: The Series premiered nearly three years ago, which included Disney Channel’s Bizaardvark and a single guest appearance on Fox’s New Girl. Shortly after the conclusion of High School Musical’s first season, Rodrigo’s debut single “Driver’s License” shot to #1 on the Billboard chart and crushed Spotify records, instantly catapulting Rodrigo to international superstardom. Her debut album Sour followed suit, earning Rodrigo seven nominations at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards after the album sat at #1 for five consecutive weeks. As a result, Rodrigo’s role in High School Musical has gradually waned since the show’s debut.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series creator Tim Federle has confirmed to ET that Rodrigo will continue to have a “smaller presence” in season 3. The season will follow the students of East High to Camp Shallow Lake for summer break, meanwhile Nini will be off exploring songwriting in Los Angeles. Federle also notes that HSMTMTS season 3 will give Rodrigo a “proper sendoff” from the show. Read his full statement below:
“I think [Nini is] ready to explore the world outside the halls of East High. And Olivia herself was having such a monumental explosion in the music industry that it felt like the right thing to, frankly, work with Olivia to say, ‘How do we get you out there into the world with us taking a little bit more of a backseat?’ which we were all proud to do to support her. And so this season, it’s about trying to give her character a proper sendoff while also leaving room for other characters to really step into the spotlight.”
After Rodrigo’s overnight rise to the top of pop music, it was only a matter of time before she’d have to move on from High School Musical. The way she turned viral success into total domination of the music industry is something pop music has only seen a very small handful of times in the past, which makes the unique nature of her exit both unprecedented and unsurprising. With that said, it will also make her final appearances on the show a treat for fans who have watched her since the beginning and have experienced her transition from Disney star to pop titan.
Even with less of Rodrigo, High School Musical season 3 is sure to pique the interest of those who loved the original movies. As fans will recall, High School Musical 2 also took place over the summer and moved the cast away from East High, and that movie ended up being the most well-received of the three. This series seems to enjoy being a little bit meta by hearkening back to the originals (the musical they perform in the first season is, literally, High School Musical), so they’re likely to continue by including Easter eggs or even a nod or two to High School Musical 2.
