Plus, he unpacks all those crazy finale cliffhangers.
So is this a case of art imitating life, or life imitating art?
EW went straight toHSMTMTSshowrunner Tim Federle for the answer.
Olivia Rodrigo in season 2 of ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’.Disney+
And it turns out, the parallels trulyarea crazy coincidence.
“Man, it’s so crazy,” Federle says.
It’s a wild amount of symmetry."
The cast of ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ season 2.Disney+
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I can’t believe this was all just a coincidence.
Right, but this is sospecificallysimilarto Olivia’s unprecedented career launch that happened at the same time.
Yeah, I mean, I’ve always been somebody who bet on Olivia Rodrigo.
I think she’s got a skill that’s unmatched and really rare.
1 album, ever.
That’s just so massive and so world-changing.
But it’s a joy to watch.
I’m hoping to explore that brother-sister dynamic as well.
[Sighs] I guess what I mean is, I want Olivia to be happy.
I loved theHigh School Musical 2credit sequence number at the end of the finale.
How did that come about?
No one’s brought that up, and I love that sequence too.
And we were all just crying.
It was this beautiful goodbye moment.
It really caught me off guard.
I legitimately did not see this coming.
I remember watching it thinking, “This has to be the credit sequence.
[Laughs] It was really lovely.
They are very much a group of theater kids who burst into song at inopportune moments.
What was your ultimate goal for this finale?
Led by Miss Jenn [Kate Reinders], everyone gets caught up in this competition this season.
because their lives have changed so much.
It does not matter what you win or what you don’t win.
It matters that you’re there for your people.
We had a few romantic cliffhangers by the end of the finale.
Where are those relationships heading if we get a third season?
He’s really afraid to be alone.
So we’ll see where that leads.
Nini and Ricky’s relationship arc this season was a huge surprise.
That was a really early decision.
Let’s get back together.”
It’s not the fairy-tale romance we so often see in media.
So breaking them up was like an early, early plan for the writers.
We wanted to show how two different people deal with that differently.
For Nini, it’s throwing herself into her work.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Seriesseason 2 is streaming now on Disney+.
