Are you ready for High School Musical: The Musical: The Series to take its final bow? HSMTMTS season 4, the show's final season, premieres this Wednesday, August 9. As we gear up for a graduation season that will almost positively put us in our feels, we get to prepare ourselves and stoke the excitement with an exclusive clip from episode 7.
The penultimate episode, titled “Night of Nights," a lovely ode to one of High School Musical 3's most memorable lyrics, will feature another track from HSM 3 — the iconic Sharpay and Ryan duet “I Want it All.” HSMTMTS season 4 reimagines the Broadway Baby anthem with arguably even more bravado than its original version, and Kourtney (played by Dara Reneé) and Carlos (Frankie A. Rodriguez) transform into Sharpay and Ryan.
Related: This Is Joshua Bassett and Sofia Wylie’s Most Chaotic HSMTMTS Interview Yet
While HSMTMTS season 3 took our new generation of Wildcats to summer theater camp, season 4 brings us right back to where it all began at East High. However, Miss Jenn's production of High School Musical 3 will have to compete for the stage with High School Musical 4: The Reunion, the fictional sequel to the very real Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens-led Disney film. (We're really gonna miss this extremely meta series.)
But the show must go on, right? Enter: Kourtney and Carlos as Sharpay and Ryan. Take your first look at the power duo below.
HSMTMTS is breaking tradition this year, opting for an all-at-once release of the season instead of its usual weekly schedule. Showrunner Tim Federle has repeatedly teased how many surprises, easter eggs, and special moments are in store for fans this season (there's graduation, cameos, soundtrack standouts, and of course, the Rina of it all) — but besides interview tidbits and what we've seen in the season trailer, all our imagination can rely on for now are the episode titles:
- “High School Musical 4”
- “HSM v. HSM”
- “A Star is Reborn”
- “Trick or Treat”
- “Admissions”
- “Trust the Process”
- “Night of Nights”
- “Born to Be Brave”
In Teen Vogue's exclusive sneak peek at episode 7, “Night of Nights,” we get to see Kourtney and Carlos truly stepping into their own. Who better to belt “I Want it All” than two of the most ambitious Wildcats since Sharpay and Ryan Evans themselves? (And Taylor McKessie, of course.) There's so much glitz and glam in this minute-long clip that we almost get distracted by the fact that Sebastian is seen rooting Carlos on from the audience, singing along to every word. Let's hope this means they're able to overcome whatever drama that documentary ushered in.
Frankie A. Rodriguez and Dara Reneé recently spoke to ScreenRant about their memorable filming experiences from the final season. “One thing I always said about this experience was I feel like I hit the lottery… everybody is just so fun and so incredibly talented,” said Rodriguez. “I feel like I get to learn constantly from them. And so that's going to be my biggest takeaway. I have all of these people.”
“Exactly. Same. Being able to not only film with such talents and learn from them, but also know that they're nice—it's so fun,” agreed Reneé. “It's really a party every day on set, plus your favorite childhood songs. What gets better than that, honestly?” Short answer: nothing.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series will drop all 8 episodes of season 4 on Wednesday, August 9 exclusively on Disney+. Check out the sneak peek of Kourtney and Carlos' performance in episode 7 below.
