The Disney+ series “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” first aired on the streaming app on November 8, 2019. When the show was first announced many people who were fans of the original “High School Musical” movies were not accepting of the idea as it was perceived as a reboot. While the characters in the show are putting on a musical of the loved movie, it is not a reboot of the originals.
However, many watchers noticed its similarities with the Fox popular television show “Glee” as it follows a group of highschoolers who are navigating relationships while singing showtunes.
This did not bother a large majority of watchers, and the younger audience watching the show most likely have not even watched “Glee”.
The early accusations about the show did lead to some early judgements before it even aired. Any Instagram post about the show was filled with people complaining about Disney rebooting “High School Musical”. If the angry commenters were to watch the show, it is clearly not a reboot.
Kalyssa Hickman, a Sophomore at Thousand Oaks High School, has watched the show and enjoyed it. Hickman did admit that she was skeptical of the show when she first heard of it.
“It [negative opinions before watching] definitely affected mine because I didn’t expect it to be good,” Hickman said.
After High School Musical: The Musical: The Series aired on Disney+, the negative was drowned out by many positive critics and fans alike, praising the show for being new and fresh.
The Disney+ limited series received a 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, which seems low but the fan reactions were positive.
A point that is brought up in reviews from critics is that the mockumentary style of filming distracts from the rest of the show. There is also not enough of the mockumentary filming for it to be classified as that type of entertainment, so it is seen as almost a last minute addition to the show.
Joel Keller, an editor at Decider, has mentioned the mockumentary style in the article.
“There’s a lot of mockumentary-style stuff that isn’t really necessary, from the side interviews to the shaky handheld-style footage” said Keller,” It’s distracting; isn’t it enough that we’re seeing fake students from the real high school where HSM was shot auditioning and rehearsing for HSMTM?”
There will always be backlash no matter how incredible a show or movie may be and it is important that this is acknowledged. A show or movie does not have to be a masterpiece or formulated perfectly to be enjoyable. The original movies are not masterpieces looking back on them, but they are nostalgic and hold a special place in the hearts’ of many.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series has had its first season finale, and it unknown when the second season will be airing on the Disney streaming service. If you want to relieve the series, or start watching, the whole first season is available on Disney+ and there is a special with behind the scenes videos and interviews. The special is called High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Special.