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.