While fans of the original franchise were initially hesitant to embrace the show, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series has become a massive success for Disney+. The characters quickly won the hearts of viewers and the relationships between them continue to evolve over time.
The change in setting offers several opportunities for the show to switch things up, as the Wildcats attend Camp Shallow Lake to put on a production of Frozen. With Kourtney (Dara Reneé, Grey’s Anatomy) struggling to adapt to the outdoors and Gina (Sofia Wylie, Andi Mack and The School for Good and Evil) navigating her new romance with E.J., there are bound to be plenty of unexpected twists and turns ahead of them.
Screen Rant chats with High School Musical: The Musical: The Series stars Sofia Wylie and Dara Reneé about the upcoming storylines and summer romances in season 3.
Screen Rant: We are coming up on the premiere of season 3. Sophia, it looks like there’s a lot of fun stuff coming up for Gina. She is finally setting down roots, becoming a real integral part of this group, she is going out for the lead, she has her first boyfriend. What can we expect for Gina this season?
Sofia Wylie: I think we can just expect kind of the unexpected. That’s such a cheesy answer. But everything that Gina goes through this season is so new to her. And it’s really new for the audience to see her in this light. This light of being in love, having these really strong friends and creating new friendships and having other people come into her world and kind of shake things up. I think there’s just a lot of newness, and it’s exciting for me because I got to really experience and—what’s the right word? Experiment with Gina this season in a new light.
Screen Rant: We also have Kourtney’s character. She had a great season last season, it really brought her more front and center. We got to see her relationship with Howie, we got to see her cast in the play…so what is up next for her?
Dara Reneé: Oh, well, this season, Kourtney is a little out of her comfort zone. We’re in the woods. Kourtney doesn’t do woods. She doesn’t like the forest, very much likes the mall within two meters of her. But it was just really fun being able to play with that character and to just have fun comedically with it.
It was also really cool because this season, you know, Kourtney really talks about her struggles with anxiety and different things that a lot of, you know, people our age are facing right now. And people who aren’t our age are facing right now, and I too struggle with it. So I was really grateful to talk about it. And so being able to have that mix of comedy and something that I deal with personally it was really fun. And I’m really excited for it. I loved it.
Screen Rant: Kourtney is a favorite character of mine, so that is so cool. Sofia, I do have to ask about Gina’s love life. It looks like we’ve got a couple of different things going on. Is there anything you can say about Gina and E.J.’s relationship? And she’s also had these feelings for Ricky that have been there in the background for a while. What can you say about any of that?
Sofia Wylie: As we saw in the trailer, Gina and E.J. are happily in a new relationship with one another. Very much honeymoon phase, just so excited to be with one another in this new environment. He’s been to camp before, but she has not. So, this is all very new.
And, of course, like with any new relationship, there are going to be rocky moments. And there are going to be people who come into the picture and kind of shake things up for them. But I think, as of right now, in the first coming episodes, Gina’s just really focusing on having fun at summer camp, but also being a good girlfriend for the first time. And no matter what, I think she’s fighting for that.
Screen Rant: Is there any particular storyline that you’re each looking forward to? You know, that you can tease, that you’re super excited for fans to see?
Dara Reneé: Ooh…
Screen Rant: I know! I asked you a hard one.
Dara Reneé: I guess I would say I’m just really excited for the storyline with Gina, Ashlynn, and Kourtney. I mean, we’re bunkies. That’s never happened. You know, when you live with somebody, it’s a little different than just seeing them in the hallway and you know, saying “What’s up?” So it’s really fun. And I couldn’t have asked for a better group to just talk with and just, you know, lay in the Honeycomb—that’s our cabin name—lay in the Honeycomb and just chill with, so I would say the bunkies. I’m really excited for that storyline.
Sofia Wylie: I’m really excited for people to see us put on Frozen because the songs in Frozen are so iconic. And so getting, of course, people don’t really know who we’re playing in Frozen just yet, but when they figure that out, I think they’re going to be really excited and there’s just a lot of great songs for a lot of great characters. And I think there are just some great moments there. I don’t know how to say all of this without spoiling it, but the show is really really cool.
HSMTMTS Season 3 Synopsis
The Wildcats head to Camp Shallow Lake, a California sleepaway camp, where they and their fellow campers are primed for an unforgettable summer ripe with romance, curfew-less nights and a taste of the great outdoors. With a high-stakes production of “Frozen” on the horizon AND a drama-filled “docu-series” of the production, the Wildcats will attempt to show who is “best in snow” without leaving anyone out in the cold.
Check out our other interviews for High School Musical: The Musical: The Series:
- Joshua Bassett & Matt Cornett
- Frankie Rodriguez & Julia Lester
- Saylor Bell & Adrian Lyles
- Corbin Bleu & Jason Earles
- Tim Federle
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 3 premieres July 27th on Disney+.
