00:00Awesome. Thank you. My mother was super happy to have us as the backdrop for so many junkets
00:04while I'm home. So good. Well, I am so thrilled to be talking to you about season four.
00:11Obviously a little bittersweet because it's the final season. I could watch these characters for
00:16the next 10 years. They could stay in high school for forever. How long have you envisioned season
00:22four being the final season? Heading into season four, I had a hunch. And then midway through
00:29production, this may sound counterintuitive, but the vibes were so good on set that I remember
00:37calling Disney and saying, I'm going to turn in the final script. And when you read it, it's going
00:43to feel like the end. And that's on purpose. Because after four years at East High, it's time
00:50to graduate. But also I wanted to go out on top in a real mode of celebration and with the opportunity
00:57to complete the story sort of on our terms with real, with real end games. And so I've known for
01:03a while. And I, and I told the principal cast, I took them out to dinner the night before the final
01:08table read. And I was like, every last table read of the season, we all cry a little bit because it
01:14could be the end. And, and, and I just want to tell you guys that it actually is. And we should
01:18hold each other up tomorrow and go out on top. And they, they just really delivered. And I think,
01:23I hope audience really feels that when they watch the show. So you, the cast didn't know it was the
01:29final season until that last table read. They suspected because they could see where they could
01:34see where the stories were going. But, and, but yeah, it was, it was sort of official at the end of
01:40the season. And, and that allowed for some real closure that we got to kind of say goodbye and thank you
01:46to Salt Lake City and to the franchise at the end, rather than kind of going off into the world and
01:52crossing our fingers. So like you said, bittersweet, but mostly really sweet. I think
01:57four seasons is a miracle. Absolutely. Especially in this day and age and to end shows on your own
02:03terms. I think that's really important for a show like this. You know, I know, you know, I guess over
02:08the course of the four seasons, had you always had a specific ending in mind or did it not sort of come
02:14to you until you were writing this final season? Plot wise, not a specific ending. Okay. Um, but I
02:24think emotion and message wise, I wanted to say, um, whether your cast is the lead, whether you
02:34actually go to Broadway, whether you just take theater class to learn how to talk in front of a
02:40group of people, and then you become a surgeon or a car salesman, whatever it is, um, hold your
02:45people up and find your people. And that was really like the message, which is find your mentors,
02:50find your miss Jens. Um, and so I think that really feels without giving anything away. I think
02:56that's really a theme at the end of the series, but yeah, in terms of like some end game couples,
03:02I, this, this was the intention for a while and people are going to have to tune in to see what
03:08that means. Yeah. Uh, we'll get to the end game couples a little bit. Um, obviously the end of
03:13last season featured the, like the bombshell documentary and not everybody got the best
03:19edit in the documentary. What does the fallout of that look like for, for the East high kids when we
03:26pick up? I think as always, it's more emotional than literal. So Courtney sees it as like a real
03:32opportunity to become a star. I think Gina and Ricky who are really making a go at being an official
03:39couple. Um, there's some question as to how's the world going to handle this after that wild edit.
03:46Um, but I also think, uh, as important as that documentary was and as explosive as it is for them,
03:53once they returned to high school, they're back to some of the high school worries about
03:58college and relationships and grades. And, and I wanted to make sure for as meta as our show is,
04:05I still want it to be relatable to kids out there who aren't actually in documentaries and aren't
04:10actually famous because I think we all want the same things, which is acceptance and love and,
04:15and, and opportunity. Absolutely. Speaking of Gina and Ricky that like the ending of last season
04:20was everything that I ever wanted and more, um, it was that, you know, obviously the whole season
04:25was a, will they, won't they, and that's pretty much been their sort of vibe for the past three
04:29seasons. Um, but then they had that kiss and you mentioned a little bit about how they're sort of
04:33adapting to high school with the relationship. Um, are they going to be happier, like happy for a bit,
04:39or are they going to be hit with challenges right away?
04:43I think, uh, Oh, Avery. Oh, Hollywood life. You, um, yeah. I mean, they're hit with challenges for
04:51sure. Many of them external. Um, this is what I think about Ricky and Gina.
04:58They're the right couple. And the question of the season is, but is this the right timing?
05:04Yeah. Because on stage as in life timing is everything. And that's the fundamental question,
05:12but gosh, are they, they're really good for each other. And I just hope they can figure that out.
05:18Me too. I like, I was, like I've said before, Sophia and Josh have some of the best chemistry,
05:25uh, that I've ever seen. I just, I'm astonished.
05:28It's unteachable. It's unteachable what they've got. And they're such good friends
05:32and they so hold each other up off camera that I think they just, again, the miracle of four
05:39seasons, they've seen each other through ups and downs. And I think they really trust each other
05:44on camera. And so it's a beautiful thing to watch. And I, there's some super swoony, romantic date
05:51nighty things coming up this season that I just can't wait for the audience to see musical moments.
05:55I'm sure. Always. Okay. I need, I need a duet, more duets with them.
06:02Um, especially in this final season. Uh, I can promise you a duet.
06:07Oh, I can promise you a duet.
06:09My Apple music is ready. My Apple music is ready. Um, one of the best aspects of last season,
06:15I think was Ashlyn, you know, really discovering her sexuality. Um, and I think that is such a
06:21relatable thing for teens and kids these days, you know, what does that journey look like for her in
06:28this, this final season? Uh, yeah. I mean, her identity is such an evolving thing as so many
06:36ours is these days, young or not that we absolutely explore it. And I think one of the interesting
06:42things we explore is that, you know, I've heard when people go on cruise ships, they make best
06:47friends and then they get home and they're like, I don't actually even like that person. We were just
06:51on a cruise ship. So what Ashlyn needs to figure out is how much of that freedom and identity she
06:57discovered at summer camp. She's able to integrate back at school, particularly with her ongoing
07:03relationship with the incredible big red. And so her, her identity is a big part of it. And, um,
07:10and, and I, and I think the story is told beautifully and I will say, Julia, no one brings a story like
07:15this to life, like Julia. And, uh, she's got some, uh, she's got some real heartfelt moments that,
07:22that, yeah, they're beautiful. There was something, there was some scene last season. It was like,
07:26oh, that's what it felt like. And I was like, the way that she emoted that, like, was chef's kiss.
07:33It was gorgeous. Yeah. That was written by Chandler Turk, one of our writers and Julia just really got it.
07:39And I remember before season three calling her and saying, I want to be really, really professional
07:44right now and ask you a straightforward question, which is if the writers room wanted to explore
07:50Ashlyn's queer bisexual identity, are you comfortable with that? And Julia burst into tears and said,
07:57it's everything I ever wanted. And I feel so honored. And, you know, what a, you know, and a time when I
08:04think queer people and many minorities and underrepresented groups feel threatened,
08:10it is, uh, really special that we got to tell these stories on Disney Plus. Yeah. Um, because at the
08:18end of the day, it's a big family brand. And by the way, queer people, myself included, we are in your
08:24family. We want the same things you want. So Julia nails it. Frankie nails it. Joe Serafini nails it. You know,
08:31they're a really special group. Larry Saperstein as Big Red has got some really special stuff this
08:37season. So I think for that audience, which I know is big for us, they're going to, I think,
08:40feel seen. I hope this season. Yeah. And then my final question is, I know that we're getting,
08:45you know, Corbin back, Monique, Lucas, uh, and others back from the original franchise. Uh,
08:51I know people are going to ask, you know, was an invite extended to all past members of High
08:56School Musical to return in season four? Yeah. An invite was extended. Um, and they are one,
09:03that's a wonderful group of people, all of them, uh, including Kenny Ortega, by the way,
09:07by the way, who set the whole franchise up so beautifully. And, uh, and look, people should
09:12tune in August 9th on Disney Plus and see who shows up. But what I'll say is, you know, um,
09:18I really believe the reason the show, thank goodness, ended up going four seasons is because
09:23of Ricky and Gina and Courtney and Ashlyn and Carlos and Big Red and EJ. And, you know,
09:28I just started naming them all Gina. Uh, uh, and it's because this new generation of kids is so darn
09:34talented that we miraculously won over a new group of people who I think showed up originally to check
09:42it out and see what we were doing with the franchise, but I think stuck around for this incredible cast.
09:47And, uh, and that's what I'll say about that. Okay. Well, because I know you're dropping all at
09:53once versus weekly and I'm like, is there, is there a point to that? Uh, possibly. Possibly.
09:59I mean, I think the, the big point to that is it would be, uh, it would be really cool
10:04to get a really nice big audience for this last season and, and, and, and, you know, send this
10:09franchise, uh, back into the vault for a minute, uh, the way it should, which is that it was the
10:15franchise that made musicals cool again. And as someone who was not cool in high school and still
10:20isn't, um, I'm so grateful that High School Musical came around and said to people, it's not so weird
10:26to sing and dance. And in fact, it's beautiful. And so, uh, so no matter what, I hope, uh, I hope
10:32our audience tunes in and really feels that celebration. Well, you were one of the coolest
10:36people I know. Uh, and thank you so much for four incredible seasons. I cannot wait to watch it
10:42all unfold. And I'm sure hopefully we can chat, you know, once I see the ending, because I'll have
10:47a lot of questions. Um, but thank you again for this incredible show. I've loved covering it so much.
10:54Thank you so much. You've done a beautiful job. And now if you could please play all I
10:57want by Olivia Rodrigo on that piano, we'll go out that way. Right. Let me call my mom. She knows.
11:03Yeah. Okay. Thank you so much. Great to see you. Thank you so much.
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