High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is surprisingly refreshing for a high school-set show

The New York Times

"God bless High School Musical: The Musical: The Series for not containing any murders," says Margaret Lyons. "The revved up erotic gloom and doom of teen TV — partially attributable to Riverdale, more attributable to Pretty Little Liars — is completely, mercifully absent from the new series, replaced by a Disney cheerfulness and flashes of Irony Jr. for kids. The result is surprisingly refreshing, even with a title that suggests a sense of redundancy." Lyons adds: "The series is not a reinvention of its genre, but it shines in its little specifics, like the agony of listening to someone slog through reading stage directions out loud, or impromptu harmonies that are really just singing an octave up. The cast is bubbly and terrific, and the zingers ('my mother bounced back from an autopsy!') keep everything from becoming schlockola."

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• This is a Disney property chewing, swallowing, and then regurgitating itself whole: "The show seems aimed at fully self-aware meta humor, but it’s not quite sharp enough to pull off self-mockery, and at the same time, too loopingly referential to just be a straight remake," says Kathryn VanArendonk. "You see the jokes happening right there in front of your face, but you can’t feel them, so you’re left wondering if they actually were jokes. It’s like if the Wikipedia page for 'intellectual property' became a sentient being and then appeared in an animated series about the Wikipedia page for 'spinoff' — when you stare at it, you can see the possibility for fun, light goofiness. But mostly what you see is a Disney property chewing, swallowing, and then regurgitating itself whole. It does seem possible that once High School Musical: The Musical: The Series has managed to summit the peak of its own premise, it could smooth out a little, becoming less like a Disney executive’s fever dream of synergistic self-promotion, and more like Glee. In its best moments, that’s really what the first two episodes of the show feel like."
• It's more reminiscent of Parks and Recreation than Glee: "Though any potential early comparisons to Glee would be understandable, music seems to be less of a vehicle for abstract concepts here and more of a literal element of the production it chronicles," says Shannon Miller. "Its documentary-style delivery makes it more reminiscent of Park And Recreation, from the fictionalized ambitions of this ensemble to confessional-like asides that give each person an authentic chance to show what they have to offer. It grounds High School Musical—originally highly dramatic by design—with moments that don’t require an abiding love of musicals to appreciate. More importantly, it manages to do this while paying great respect to the story that inspired it."
• To its credit, HSM:TM:TS is upfront that it's a blatant cannibalization of a Disney property
• HSM:TM:TS pulls off the required sweet-tart execution perfectly
• The soundtrack, coming in January, features High School Musical classics and new tunes
• Creator Tim Federle found inspiration in American Vandal and The Office: "It was right at the height of American Vandal, which I thought was incredible and brilliantly done,” he says. “And I wanted to differentiate us from the original (movies) right away. I knew that camera-style-wise, if I could borrow some of the elements from The Office, with characters talking to the camera and whip pans and zooms, it would immediately announce it as not a copycat of the original, but a new way in. And the docu-style would allow me to revisit the original music but not feel like we’re doing direct karaoke covers.”
• Federle only watched the original films a few times to avoid becoming "Smash with acne"