Olivia Rodrigo's fame has eclipsed that of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, so it's understandable that her role had to be reduced a bit in season 3.
Still, the 'Good 4 U' and 'Drivers License' hitmaker got a fun addition in the latest run of episodes, with Modern Family favourite Jesse Tyler Ferguson playing her dad.
"Jesse's an old friend of mine," showrunner Tim Federle told Digital Spy in an exclusive interview. "We're both Broadway guys from New York. I texted Jesse and I was like: 'Do you have any interest in playing Olivia Rodrigo's dad?' And he texted back: 'Yes. Yes, I do.'
Related: High School Musical TV series confirms Olivia Rodrigo's exit in season 3
"Jesse is as big of a comic star as it gets, and he'd just won a Tony Award, which is so cool. But I think sometimes this business is ultimately: who do you know? And who do you know will bring good vibes to set?
"He was just a joy and a masterclass, walking onto set and being an absolute dream, and being a fanboy of Olivia, which was so sweet to watch."
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As Rodrigo's music career really started to take off, it was Federle who made the decision to scale back her commitment to the show.
Related: High School Musical TV boss explains why major characters are missing in season 3
As he explained: "I actually went to Disney, and said: 'I think Olivia should tour the world. This is her dream. And I think we should do the right thing, and allow Olivia's music career to explode.'
"I had Olivia's support in that, and I had Disney's support in that. We all worked together to give her – I think and hope – a really memorable experience in season three for those OG High School Musical series fans, while also recognising that there's so much talent in this cast, and there's other stories we can tell."
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is available to stream via Disney+, with new season 3 episodes dropping every Wednesday.
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.
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.
