Disney + is a new service that streams on-demand shows, released on Nov. 12, with 10 million users and growing. Disney + was predicted to be amazing, and it surpassed expectations.
Disney + offers original shows created just for subscribers. The most popular original show on Disney + is High School Musical: The Musical: The Series scored a 79 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and 92 percent on Google.
Known as HSMTMTS, this show is about “real life” students at East High School, where the High School Musical movies were shot and how they are putting on their first-ever play of the movie. Google Reviews said, “New romances blossom, old friendships are tested to their limit while new ones are formed, rivalries flare, and lives are changed forever as these students discover the transformative power that only high school theater can provide”
When Disney + first announced that HSMTMTS was going to have a spin-off series, viewers were not happy, didn’t think it would live up to the famous movies and would be a disappointment. After seeing one episode, everyone changed their mind. According to writer Makayla Archambeault’s of Lafayette High School, “It paid copious homage to the original movies while also establishing that it is its own show.”
This show is a little cheesy with high school romances, but it makes up for it with the amusing drama. It will keep your eyes glued to your screen and make you want to watch all day. Senior Julia Bogart said, “I was expecting the show to be cliche and very Disney-esque, but I ended up loving the show and its music.”
A sense of competition permeates the show. The main characters battle it out to get the leading role in the play, which causes tension between characters.
HSMTMTS has a whole album with songs from the show. With 41 songs on the soundtrack, “All I Want” by Olivia Rodrigo peaked on the Billboard Emerging Artists chart at #11. While most of the songs viewers enjoyed, some songs viewers highly disliked. The song “A Billion Sorrys” by Matt Cornett did not get good ratings, nor did it reach billboards.
Freshman Amanda Schoen said, “It reminds me of my childhood, and I love the show because Joshua Bassett [the main character] brings the show to the next level.”
The main character Ricky played by Joshua Bassett portrays the character Troy in both the show’s school play and the show’s real life. He is the average jock who tries out for the play to get his crush Nina (Olivia Rodrigo) attention. Viewers like Shoen like to call him a “heartthrob character.”
Watching the show will bring your heart on a rollercoaster, happy to sad to excited to nervous. If you watch the show, you will not regret it.
