By Julia Si
Season two of the long-awaited hit show, “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” has finally arrived. Fans are eager to see how the story will continue after the first season, as the new one is expected to contain as much drama and action as the first — maybe even more. Fans will get to see how Ricky and Nini’s relationship unfolds with the news of Nini going away to a prestigious conservatory. Other relationships like Big Red and Ashlyn, Carlos and Seb, and Ricky and Gina will evolve and certainly create drama as well.
This season, the cast of the show is doing “Beauty and The Beast” as their spring musical. A new element added to the plot of this season is that the cast will compete in a musical competition against a rival school. Special guest star Derek Hough, who also happens to have a past relationship with Miss Jenn, makes an appearance as the rival school’s drama teacher. It is sure to start controversy, create suspense, and spark excitement for the new season of the series.
Olivia Rodrigo, who plays Nini, and Joshua Bassett, who plays Ricky, have been making headlines in recent pop culture news. With the success of the first season, both cast members gained popularity on social media, largely for their music. Fans speculated that the two could have possibly been a couple due to their undeniable on-screen chemistry and being seen spending time together in public. All of a sudden, it seemed like they were no longer that close and became more distant. Rodrigo had been working on new music, most notably the beginnings of her album, “Sour.” After hearing “driver’s license” and “deja vu,” fans started questioning whether she wrote those songs about her possible relationship with Bassett. Rumors began flying around about how Joshua Bassett left Olivia Rodrigo to be with Sabrina Carpenter, and she was left heartbroken.
Artwork by Shadia Zayer
Rodrigo's hit debut album, “Sour,” has consecutively opened at the top of the Billboard charts and broke records in the United States since the album was released.
“I used to follow the drama but then I got bored of it,” said senior Alyson Diep.
However, this drama seemed to have been the inspiration for her debut album, which is receiving high praise from all age groups. “driver’s license” sped to the top of the Rolling Stone Top 100 Songs chart, making the largest debut in the Rolling Stone Top 100 Songs history. So many people were excited to hear the entire album since some notable names like Taylor Swift have been mentioned as one of the writers of a song.
Joshua Bassett also surprised the world when he announced in an interview, “I guess this is also my coming out video.” He then clarified on his Instagram that he is still figuring out his true identity but that he wants people to be loving and accepting of everyone. In the caption of the post, he preached shamelessly to loving who you love and not letting hatred and ignorance win.
“I think it was definitely difficult for them to act as a couple and as if they were in love after they broke up in real life. Some scenes we see might look more awkward and uncomfortable towards the middle and end of the season,” said senior Emily Locker.
“I’m sure that tensions were high when they were filming with all of the drama currently going on, which must have made it awkward,” said senior Keralyn Lener.
All of the real-life drama and controversy occurred during the filming and release of the second season of "HSMTMTS." Fans and viewers speculate whether this will impact the chemistry and realistic bond between Olivia and Joshua’s characters and the overall quality of acting for the new season. One thing for sure is that the new season will create more headlines surrounding its riveting new plot and soundtrack.
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