Why “High School Musical: The Musical:The Series” is actually kind of good

“HSMTMTS” is a meta-documentary of itself

Like every early 2000’s child, I grew up watching “High

School Musical.” From it’s iconic songs to the choreography,

it is arguably one of the most successful Disney

Channel Original Franchises. When Disney announced that

they would be doing a “High School Musical” series on

its Disney+ platform, I was hesitant to watch it because I

was afraid it would ruin the greatness that was the original

“High School Musical” movies.

However, when I watched the show, called “High School

Musical: The Musical: The Series” (HSMTMTS), I was

pleasantly surprised.

On Disney+, the show is described as “follow[ing] a

group of students as they countdown to opening night of

their school’s first-ever production of ‘High School Musical.’

With meta references and some docu-style elements,

it’s a modern take on the YA cult classic from 15 years ago.

Show-mances blossom; friendships are tested, while new

ones are made; rivalries flare; songs are sung; and lives are

changed forever as these young people discover the transformative

power that only high school theater can provide.”

When I first watched the show, it was refreshing to see

that the cast was, for the most part, actors of high school

age. When most teen shows have casts that are in their early

to mid-twenties, seeing actual teens in a high school show

makes the show more realistic and shows a more accurate

reflection of how high-schoolers behave.

Another thing that makes the show different than other

teen shows is that it addresses more real issues that teens

may be going through such as separated parents, tackling

gender roles by letting a male play Sharpay, and having one

of the main characters have two moms. It seems like a lot of

teen-oriented shows are only centered around who’s dating

who and petty drama. While there is some of that, it’s not

done in an obnoxious way.

Even though there are currently only two episodes available,

there are new episodes every Friday. While watching

these episodes, I found myself wanting to find out what

happened next, despite my previous doubt that this show

would ruin the original HSM greatness. Despite this worry,

the plot was interesting and the characters were fairly

multi-dimensional. Overall, I’m pleasantly surprised with

how good the show is, and I will probably end up watching

the entire thing.

Is this show award worthy? Probably not. Is it a good

way to take a break while being pretty entertained? Yes.

HSMTMTS is admittedly, pretty good and a great way to

bring “High School Musical” to the younger generation.

Maybe by doing this, the younger and older generations

can unite under a common cause: “High School Musical” is

and forever will be iconic and one of the best Disney Channel

Franchises ever.