This is what we’ve been looking for! Production for the Disney+ original series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is currently underway. Joshua Bassett was already cast in the show, and now we’ve learned who will be joining him: Sofia Wylie, Olivia Rodrigo, Kate Reinder, Matt Cornett, Dara Renee’, Julia Lester, Frankie Rodriguez, Larry Saperstein, and Mark St. Cyr. The 10-episode series picks up nearly 15 years after the original movie aired in 2006 and will go back to East High. A group of students will be working on their school’s first-ever production of High School Musical. They’ve got to get their head in the game to pull this production off!
Throughout the series, show-mances blossom, friendships are tested while new ones are made, rivalries flare, and lives are changed forever as these young people discover the transformative power that only a high school drama club can provide. The TV show will feature brand-new songs and acoustic “rehearsal room” reinterpretations of songs from the original High School Musical. See below to find out character details!
Joshua Bassett (Ricky): Ricky is a sarcastic yet charismatic skate rat and high school junior, who launches a bold plan to prove himself to his ex-girlfriend Nini — by auditioning to star opposite her in the school’s first-ever production of High School Musical: the Musical.
Olivia Rodrigo (Nini): Nini has just returned from summer theater camp after finding her voice, her confidence — and her new boyfriend. Fiercely loyal to her two moms, Nini is a star — if she can just believe in herself long enough to stay put in the spotlight.
Kate Reinders (Miss Jenn): Miss Jenn is the school’s new high-energy, low-reality drama teacher, who believes musicals can save lives. She may suffer from serious imposter syndrome, but she would do anything for her students, even if it means fudging a few credits on her C.V.
Sofia Wylie (Gina): Gina is a recent transfer student and a diehard theater kid with as many skeletons in the closet as she has credits on her résumé. She is both ambitious and entitled, and dead set on showing Miss Jenn that she made a huge mistake in casting her as the understudy.
Matt Cornett (E.J.): E.J. is Nini’s new love interest, the supremely confident son of two corporate lawyers, who secretly battles the pressure of living up to his picture-perfect Instagram account. Co-captain of the water polo team, senior class treasurer, and trust fund baby…it’s not a good idea to cross E.J. if you get something he wants — like the lead in the musical.
Dara Renee’ (Kourtney): Kourtney is Nini’s ride-or-die best friend who’s obsessed with makeup tutorials and feminism in equal measure. Kourtney works on the costume crew of High School Musical, pulling together runway-ready fashion on a high school budget.
Julia Lester (Ashlyn): Ashlyn is E.J.’s cousin, an “old soul” who worships Sara Bareilles and is an aspiring songwriter on the sly.
Frankie A. Rodriguez (Carlos): Carlos is captain of the color guard and the student choreographer for the show. Carlos thinks of Miss Jenn as a peer. He eats lunch in her office, has been drinking espresso since the 3rd grade and already has his Tony Awards speech memorized.
Larry Saperstein (Big Red): A skater boy through and through, Big Red is the spiritual cousin of both Bill and Ted: always fuzzy and he’s been sleep-deprived since preschool. Big Red is weirdly devastated by Ricky and Nini’s breakup — his surest role is as their wisecracking third wheel.
Mark St. Cyr (Mr. Mazzara): Mr. Mazzara is East High’s somewhat robotic S.T.E.M. teacher. His belief in preparing students for the future often leads him to butt heads with Miss Jenn, who would rather sing about life than live in the real world.
A release date has not been revealed yet. The show will air on Disney+, The Walt Disney Company’s upcoming streaming service.