High School Musical: The Musical: The Series was a perfect career starter for Olivia Rodrigo, making her one of the only modern Disney stars to rival the likes of Hilary Duff, Selena Gomez, and Raven-Symoné in terms of popularity. In the end, though, she had to pick between her blooming music career and the show that put her on the map, ultimately opting to pursue the former.
Rodrigo’s character Nini received a fitting farewell in season three of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, as her character also left East High to move to California and become a singer-songwriter. Her last episode was filled with touching, full-circle moments.
Why did Olivia Rodrigo leave ‘HSMTMTS?’
Rodrigo followed the natural pipeline of Disney actress turned singer, but while past stars have managed to juggle both, for the HSMTMTS actress the type of pop stardom she achieved was a full-time job. Her debut single “Drivers Licence,” released in January, 2021, reached astronomical heights — a type of virality only a select group of songs have reached in the past. And, while the success was partly due to the fanbase she had grown through her performance as Nini on the Disney Plus show, the song’s undeniable overall quality put her on the map as the next big pop star, landing her a Grammy in the process.
Many Disney stars have become successful as musical artists, particularly Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, and Selena Gomez, but none have done so with as much critical acclaim right off the bat as Olivia Rodrigo. With her debut single alone, Rodrigo broke the Spotify record for the most single-day streams for a non-holiday song, and most streams in a week. She became the youngest artist to debut at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, staying put for eight consecutive weeks.
The records and achievements kept piling on with the release of Rodrigo’s album Sour in May. In July, Billboard reported Rodrigo’s contract with Disney was keeping her from jumping on a tour that same year. It was only a matter of time until those contracts were renegotiated so Rodrigo could direct her full focus toward music. Season two of HSMTMTS, which was filmed between February 2020 and February 2021, was preemptively written in a way that not only mimicked Rodrigo’s real-life trajectory but also prepared her character for an exit.
In July 2022, ahead of the premiere of HSMTMTS‘s third season, it was confirmed the Sour singer would only return as a guest star. Showrunner Tim Federle told ET that they worked with Rodrigo to figure out how to “get [her] out there into the world with [the show] taking a little bit more of a backseat.” Nini appeared in a total of three episodes in season three, which were all filmed in a matter of three days before Rodrigo had to embark on her 2022 Sour tour.
Is Olivia Rodrigo in ‘HSMTMS’ season 4?
While Olivia Rodrigo won’t feature significantly in the fourth and final season of HSMTMS, there is a chance she could pop in to say a final goodbye judging by Tim Federle’s cryptic comments on the fate of Nini’s character in the show.
Federle told EW in September of 2022 that Nini is “certainly gone for now,” but hopefully not “gone forever.” In the early days of production for season four, the showrunner confirmed there had been “no formal discussions” about the singer-actress’s return to the show at that point, although the “door is always open.” He has not commented on the topic since.
Season four of High School Musical: The Musical – The Series arrives on Disney Plus Aug. 9, 2023.