Olivia Rodrigo's Future on the 'High School Musical' Series Revealed
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Olivia Rodrigo's character will be taking a back seat on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
It's been announced that the pop star will be taking a step back from her role as Nini on Netflix's hit show.
Showrunner Tim Federle told Entertainment Weekly that Rodrigo's character will be stepping out of the spotlight, leaving room for more characters to shine.
Federle's statement caused an uproar around the Grammy-winner's fate on the show, so the outlet called him back to elaborate on the fact that fans would be seeing less of Rodrigo on their TV screens.
When asked if season 3 would be Rodrigo's last season, Federle responded, "It's so funny, we are early enough in the season 4 writers' room that I'd be lying if I told you I had an exactly right answer for that."
He continued, "I would never say never to Olivia, and I would never use the word 'last,' because I hope the show goes on and on and on," noting that he hopes the show will have a Grey's Anatomy moment "17 seasons later."
However, the attention will be shifting to the core cast as he added, "I think it's probably a fairly safe bet to say that, for now, we have so many cast members who we love and who we're serving, that I think there's no immediate plans for Nini to be a huge part of the show going forward."
He joked: "But the world has a way of surprising me and I never say never."
The decision for Rodrigo's character isn't personal and was made following the massive success of her album, Sour. After she dominated the Billboard charts and went on tour, it was deemed nearly impossible for the singer-songwriter to juggle both opportunities at once.
In May 2021, Rodrigo opened up about the hardships of juggling both careers. “I think it’s really hard to split time between [acting and singing] and there are very few artists who do that efficiently," she told The Guardian, adding, "because acting is based on being a good liar and presenting a version of yourself that’s believable, and being a songwriter is the complete opposite. It’s like, here are all of my deepest, darkest secrets and I want you to know me so personally.”
Federle also noted, "It's like, season 1, we were making a completely different show, but that's okay."
"Any show that's about the power of music — it's so corny to say this, but this is me — and the way that making music with people you love can change your life and change the world, for this to have occurred, for Olivia, all I can do is sit back and be like, 'If the worst thing that ever happened to me is that the star of my show became the biggest pop star in the world and had to chase that, then that's a pretty damn good bad thing to happen to me," he explained optimistically.
Cast members attended a red carpet event last night for the premiere of season 3, and Rodrigo was on hand for the celebrations, even shocking fans by reuniting with her ex Joshua Bassett. She took to her Instagram to share some photos from the evening.
"love all these people so so so much. knowing and working with them has been one of the greatest joys of my life. episode 1 of season 3 of hsmtmts is streaming now! wildcats forever❤️," the singer-songwriter captioned the post.
You can stream season 3 of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series on Netflix now!
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