‘HSMTMTS’ Creator Tim Federle Reveals Which ‘HSM’ OG He Wanted — But Wasn’t Able — to Get for Season 4
09.08.2023 - 12:53
/ usmagazine.com
Tim Federle is thrilled by the High School Musical stars who appeared on season 4 of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series — but he says there was one person missing.
“It was so great to get the originals back because it launched their careers in such explosive ways. [That is] the same way I think some of the cast members of my show are getting launched into the world,” the showrunner, 43, exclusively told Us Weekly. “I loved seeing how humble and grateful and just cool they are now — as young adults — Corbin [Bleu] and Monique [Coleman] and Lucas [Grabeel]. I really wanted to get Kenny Ortega back.”
Ortega, 73, was the director and choreographer of the High School Musical movie franchise, and Federle recalled getting in touch in hopes that Ortega would play himself in HSMTMTS.
“I called Kenny. He was super busy on a project,” Federle said. “He could not have been more gracious. I said, ‘Do you want to come back and play Kenny?’ And he was like, ‘It’s the coolest idea. I can’t.’ He was editing a documentary. Kenny’s on my bucket list. [I’ve] got to collaborate with Kenny someday. But I’m really satisfied with how we wrapped up the whole show.”
High School Musical was a cultural phenomenon in the late aughts. The Disney hit focused on basketball star Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and new student Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) as they navigated high school romance, drama and musical theater.
Disney+ rekindled the franchise more than a decade later with spinoff series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. The mockumentary, which premiered in 2019, launched the careers of stars Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett, Sofia Wylie, Matt Cornett, Larry Saperstein, Julia Lester, Dara Reneé and Frankie Rodriguez.
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