High School Musical: The Musical: The Series returns for its third season on Disney Plus this month, and while many things have stayed the same there has been one major change to the show this season – the location.
Rather than being set at East High School like the previous two, season 3 is set largely at Camp Shallow Lake, a theatre summer camp where a number of the Wildcats go to put on a performance of Frozen.
Now, showrunner Tim Federle has explained the switch-up in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com, saying: “We wanted a big fun, summery, sunny season, that would just be good vibes. For the audience that was with us in season 2, that was in some ways a darker, more dramatic season, shot during the height of COVID.
“I think we were all looking for both a location change for the morale of the cast, but also the storytelling possibilities and opportunities when you get to go somewhere, like a summer camp where anything could happen, is just so fun and juicy.”
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Season 3 is also seeing some casting change-ups, as Olivia Rodrigo, Kate Reinders and Olivia Rose Keegan all move to recurring roles rather than being in the main cast, and new cast members include Meg Donnelly, Saylor Bell and Adrian Lyles.
The season also sees a docu-series of the campers’ Frozen production being recorded, with Corbin Bleu, star of the original High School Musical, making a cameo appearance as himself to announce the news to the Wildcats.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series season 3 starts Wednesday 27th July on Disney Plus, while seasons 1 and 2 are streaming now – sign up for £7.99 a month or £79.90 a year. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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