Olivia Rodrigo's Exit on "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" Made a Thoughtful Nod to "Drivers License"

Olivia Rodrigo's time on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series has officially come to an end, according to series creator and executive producer Tim Federle. Olivia played the role of Nini Salazar-Roberts on the beloved Disney+ show since it first premiered in 2019. According to Tim, Olivia is departing from HSM:TM:TS to continue pursuing her uber-successful music career that took off after she released her Grammy-winning single, "Drivers License," in 2021.

Olivia's final scene in the series was in the season 3 finale, and it actually made a subtle nod to her "Drivers License" success. Nini decides to make the move from East High to the west coast to finish her senior year and continue pursuing her dreams of becoming a singer-songwriter. When she sits in the driver's seat of her car after dropping off opening night letters one last time at Camp Shallow Lake, she puts her key into the ignition and we hear an almost identical sound to the intro of Olivia's real-life song. Suddenly, we're grabbing a box of tissues in light of her heartwarming send-off.

In a July 2022 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Tim confirmed that Olivia will not be reprising her role as Nini. "I think she's ready to explore the world outside the halls of East High," he told the outlet. "And Olivia herself was having such a monumental explosion in the music industry that it felt like the right thing to, frankly, work with Olivia to say, 'How do we get you out there into the world with us taking a little bit more of a backseat?' Which we were all proud to do to support her."

For the series' third season, Olivia stepped down from a main cast member to recurring guest star so she would be able to attend awards shows, perform at music festivals, and go on tour in support of her debut album, SOUR. Tim told ET that the third season of HSM:TM:TS was his opportunity to "give her character a proper sendoff while also leaving room for other characters to really step into the fray and step into the spotlight."

It's nothing but love for Olivia, though. The showrunner gushed about watching her flourish into an established pop star compared to her early days on the show. "Personally, it's a joy to see Olivia's music explode in such a big way. It was so fun to have her back and reminisce on the beginning," Tim said.

The HSM:TM:TS cast has also been incredibly supportive of their former castmate as they attended her SOUR tour and even lined up for hugs at the season 3 premiere on July 26, 2022. You know what they say... once a wildcat, always a wildcat.

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