Look, none of us were happy when we heard that the fourth season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (HSMTMTS) would be the last one. But like that classic poem Ozymandias, even the greatest of human accomplishments are not immune from the debilitating ravages of time. Regardless, when the new season drops it will drop all at once. Showrunner Tim Federle recently explained why.
In a far-reaching interview with Hollywood Life, Federle was asked the reason for the delay-less release of the show. Was there a point? “Possibly,” he said.
“I think the big point to that is it’d be really cool to get a really nice, big audience for this last season and send this franchise back into the vault for a minute the way it should, which is that it was the franchise that made musicals cool again.”
Not a bad reason. Let as many people watch the show as they want. Federle said he wants the show to sow connection in people of all ages, and to let people know that it’s OK to be themselves.
“As someone who was not cool in high school and still isn’t, I’m so grateful that High School Musical came around and said to people, ‘It’s not so weird to sing and dance and, in fact, it’s beautiful. And so no matter what, I hope our audience tunes in and really feels that celebration.”
This idea of being yourself dovetails really well with Ashlyn’s journey last season to discover herself and her sexuality, which HL said was “such a relatable thing for teens and kids these days.” Federle said that was by design:
“Her identity is such an evolving thing, as so many of ours are these days young or not, that we absolutely explore it. I think one of the interesting things we explore is that I’ve heard when people go on cruise ships, they make best friends, and then they get home and they’re like, ‘I don’t actually even like that person. We were just on a cruise ship.’”
Alright, weird example, but okay. I’ll remember to not trust any of my cruise ship buddies when we’re on land. But he said that yes, “Ashlyn needs to figure out is how much of that freedom and identity she discovered at summer camp she’s able to integrate back at school, particularly with her ongoing relationship with the incredible Big Red.” Ooh, drama!
The final season of HSMTMTS airs on August 9 on Disney Plus.