If you’re not interested in reading, here’s the video version of the below review.

Episode 1 “Happy Campers”: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 3 Kicks Off With One of the Best Episodes Yet

I have a lot of history with the High School Musical franchise. I watched the original two on Disney Channel when they premiered, and about any other time they were on TV, I never caught up with the third film or Sharpay’s Fabolous Adventure. Still, I found my way back to the series when Disney+ launched with High School: The Musical: The Series’ first episode in November 2019. I’ve seen both seasons, both specials, and the sing-along version of the first season.

However, as I was not reviewing films or television shows in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2011 and was otherwise busy with reviews of movies like Cruella or Spiral: From the Book of Saw, this is the first time I’ve been able to give my opinion on the series until now.

So, let me brief you on what I’ve thought of the series so far: Season one was great and showed that a mockumentary set in the universe of High School Musical could still work. However, in season two, it’s clear that the pandemic that shall not be named and the behind-the-scenes drama between Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett heavily impacted the season’s plotlines and overall development. In addition, the acting has always been top tier from Bassett, Rodrigo, Larry Saperstein, Julia Lester, Dara Reneé, Frankie Rodriguez, and Kate Reinders, but took a real nosedive in season two for reasons I’ve previously mentioned.

Nevertheless, I’ve been excited for season three since Disney+ renewed the series back in September 2021. It gave me hope that Disney saw how good the plotlines were for season three and was confident that people would give the series a second chance after the horrendous second season. I’m sorry I keep bagging on season two, but it was that bad.

So, was it worth the hype? I usually wait to answer this until my wrap-up section of my reviews, but yes, yes, yes. Everything that was wrong with season two has been fixed here. That’s all I’ll say because I don’t want to spoil how much of a breath of fresh air this season's opener episode is.

This season finds our favorite Wildcats Ricky (Joshua Bassett), Gina (Sofia Wylie), E.J. (Matt Cornett), Ashlyn (Julia Lester), Kourtney (Dara Reneé), Carlos (Frankie Rodriguez) at Camp Shallow Lake, a summer camp in California, where they, as well as fellow campers Maddox (Saylor Bell Curda), Jet (Adrian Lyles), are taking in the great outdoors, the freedoms of nights without a curfew, and a little bit of romance on the side. However, with Camp Shallow Lake putting on a one-of-a-kind production of Frozen and a docuseries about the show, our Wildcats will attempt to prove who is “best in snow” without leaving anyone behind in the chilling winds of Arendelle.

“Happy Campers,” written by Zach Dodes, who also wrote the third episode of season one, “The Wonderstudies,” the third, eleventh, and twelfth episodes of season two. I should note that these episodes are some of my favorites of the series, so fans who loved those episodes should be excited to watch this premiere episode.

However, if you have no context for what I’m talking about - Dodes’ writing tends to lean on the more emotional aspects of the overall narrative and what consequences the episode will have on the rest of the season. Additionally, each episode he writes seems to have an overlying sense of impending doom or outside pressure that seems impossible to get past.

In this premiere episode, he hones in on these strengths and flips audiences’ expectations on their head. I can’t say too much about how he flips these expectations on their head, but it was a nice change of pace for a show that had become predictable and overwrought with last-minute twists to drive the story forward.

This season (at least so far), my one note about the performances from this episode’s cast is that it feels like the cast is finally having fun again. The episode's highlights are easily Bassett and Wylie, and not for the reasons you think. In addition, newcomers Curda and Lyles firmly cement their place as excellent replacements for Nini, Big Red, and Seb, who have moved from the main cast to either a recurring or a guest role. At this point, as much as I love these characters, I’d be okay with the series completely replacing their roles with Jet and Maddox, as their roles are instantly more interesting than anything I think that Tim Federle, the showrunner, could’ve done with them this season.

I can’t say much about the musical numbers without snipers circling my location. Still, I can say that there are bangers in this episode with a song that Ricky sings and a mashup number reminiscent of last season’s High School Musical 2 medley. Both songs show off the cast’s stellar vocal talent and are one of many reasons I keep coming back to the show each season.

So, Wildcats, if season two had you feeling down about the prospects of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series - don’t worry! From what I can tell of the first episode, it’s off to a great start.

★★★★★

“Happy Campers,” the season 3 premiere episode, will be available to stream on Disney+ on July 27th. Seasons one and two of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series are available to stream on Disney+, as well as two specials and a sing-along version of the first season.

Episode 2 “Into the Unknown”: An Unexpected Downward Slope in Quality

So, now that the first episode is out of the way, let’s talk about the second episode, “Into the Unknown.” Again, avoiding spoilers, this episode deals with the fallout of the first episode of the season while also finding the time to zero in on the more profound questions surrounding the season thus far.

That said, I believe Ilana Wolpert’s (she also wrote the sixth episode of season two, “Yes, And,” which was a decent entry into that season) writing is a massive downgrade from Dodes’. Instead of keying in on the why of these questions or explaining the new plotlines brought up in the episode, Wolpert seems content to shuffle characters offscreen as fast as possible. Even worse, there are cases every now and then in the episode where the writing is inconsistent with the previous episode or even season two. It’s an odd drop in quality, and I hope it picks up with episode 3.

That said, everyone’s performance is excellent in this episode. Particular highlights are newcomers Saylor Bell Curda’s portrayal of Maddox and Adrian Lyles. The duo gets some of the best scenes of the episode. I also particularly enjoyed a scene where Joshua Bassett’s Ricky misunderstands a joke.

In a series where musical is mentioned twice in its name, the episode takes some time to allow Gina, Nini, and everyone at Camp Shallow Lake to sing their hearts out. If I had to give any criticism to whoever is writing the songs for this episode, use Sofia Wylie and Olivia Rodrigo’s musical styles more. Their songs, while catchy, fell flat for me because they felt so disconnected from these two women’s signature sounds, especially Rodrigo’s. I get that it’s a show meant for young adults and not twentysomethings, but I guarantee you that anyone listening will feel the same when they hear these songs.

A much weaker entry, “Into the Unknown,” proves there is not enough time to introduce each plotline and resolve them in under 30 minutes. I’ll still watch it when it comes to Disney+ on August 3rd, but I’m going to be fast-forwarding a lot.

★★★

“Into the Unknown” will be available to stream on Disney+ on August 3rd. Seasons one and two of High Schoo Musical: The Musical: The Series are available to stream on Disney+, as well as two specials and a sing-along version of the first season.

Until next time!

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