High School Musical:The Musical: The Series is returning on Aug. 9 for it’s final season, but is that really the end of the hit show?
Fans have long been hoping for a college spinoff for the beloved East High students, but there has been no word on whether the creators would be interested in continuing the series until now.
Creator and showrunner Tim Federle recently opened up in an interview with Screen Rant about the possibility of seeing these characters again.
“Oh, yeah. Yes, of course—in a ‘never say never’ way. Right now, we’re all really focused on August 9,” Federie told the outlet. “I want season 4 to be our biggest season ever. I want this cast to feel celebrated.”
Prior to HMTMTS premiering Federie said that Disney tried to reboot High School Musical for a decade before going forward with his idea for the series. “I feel very lucky that I apparently had a take that worked, but who knows what’s going to happen in 5 years? 10 years? College?” he said. “There are a lot of different places we could take these characters, but for now, they’re definitely graduating from high school, and I hope the audience tunes in and graduates with us.”
The fourth and final season of the show will find the students of East High returning for their senior year only to find out that the long-awaited High School Musical 4: The Reunion movie is being filmed on location at their school and they’ll be used as extras.
Fred Hayes/Disney
Federie explained that it feels right to end the series now when main character Ricky is graduating and because he wanted to be able to end the show in his own way without risking being canceled after leaving fans on a cliffhanger.
“It [felt right] for so many reasons. Creatively, because he was graduating, and because there are some couples and romances that finally start to come together this season where I was like, ‘I don’t want to see this get ruined,’” he said. “But also, creatively, because I have multiple showrunner friends whose shows end on a cliffhanger, and they don’t get renewed, and the fans are upset, and the cast is upset.”
Federie added, “I really felt like, as a tribute to Disney and the fans and this incredible cast and crew, that we ought to go out on our terms. I think, if you watch season 4 to the end, and I hope people do, they’ll see that we really tried to thank everyone on screen and also wrap this thing up and graduate.”
There are already conically queer characters on the show, but considering how many people come out while they’re away at college, we are dying to see this spinoff come to life!
The final season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series returns on Aug. 9 on Disney+. Watch the trailer below.
