The all-new East High Wildcats have already wrapped up one season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and a second season is on the way too.
The first season of the new Disney+ show picked up 13 years after the original movie ended, and followed a group of students as they put on a winter theatre production of High School Musical.
But you can't put on a production of High School Musical: The Musical without a bit of help from the original stars of High School Musical, which is why it was such a treat to see KayCee Stroh (Martha Cox, who loves to pop and lock and jam and break) and Lucas Grabeel (Ryan Evans) make an appearance in the spin-off series.
Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy about how those cameos came about, HSM:TM:TS showrunner Tim Federle admitted that it was a "tricky" balance of trying to create a new show that stood on its own while honouring the legacy of the original films.
"Reboots are always a tricky business because when I think back to my childhood, if someone wanted to screw around with The Goonies or E.T., I would freak out. I would be like, 'Do not touch those. They're perfect'," Tim said.
"When we came up with the concept of the show, and I was like, 'Look, it's a group of new theatre students at this school', I didn't want us to have to get any of the original cast members. I wanted the show to kind of stand on its own two feet.
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"With that said, someone like Lucas is so iconic for a generation, and still has such a brilliant singing voice, that I went to him pretty hard, and kind of got on my hands and knees, and said, 'Just have coffee with me. I'm going to talk you through this, and tell you why it's not like you're going back to high school, but rather like passing the baton'.
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"He was so gracious about that. And it was very exciting for all of us to sort of welcome him back to the set," Tim added.
"Not for nothing, about half of our crew worked on the original High School Musical movies, because Salt Lake is a pretty small town in Utah, and it was a big homecoming for him.
"For KayCee Stroh, who was hired locally on the original movies, and she remains — I mean, she has a big online presence. She's still a beautiful dancer, and she lives in Salt Lake."
Tim continued: "It just felt like such a wink to the past, and it felt important to me that at some point this season, we got some version of a seal of approval from the originals.
"I knew that the Disney Channel itself, which had created and packaged the entire original movie, was on my side. But I felt like hearing from a Corbin Bleu or a Kenny Ortega or a Lucas or a KayCee might help hold the hands of the original fans.
"And luckily, many of them came out of the woodwork to say, 'Oh my gosh, I actually love this thing'."
As for whether or not any more of the film's original stars could make a guest appearance in season two, Tim explained that it's still "a little early" to call right now – but he does have one key star at the top of his wish list.
"I think that I'm always looking to expand the kind of guest star cast, just because I think it's so fun to see people pop up on the show..." he added.
"But seeing how invested the audience is in Ricky, Nini, Gina… and EJ's redemption at the end of season 1... It also continues to give me the confidence that this new generation of actors is really the calling card of the show, and then everything else is a cherry on top.
"Though if you happen to be out and see Zac Efron, please mention it to him. I'd love for him to give me a call."
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series airs on Disney+ in the US. The streaming service will launch in the UK on March 31.
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After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
