Enjoying Books Again
Who wants to watch a musical on prime-time TV every week? Apparently, Americans still did, as was proven with the wild success of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. The show really had no chances of success expected; in fact, it was considered a crazy idea just wild enough to possibly work. And it turned to be the kind of project network executives like to take a gamble on once in a while. In this case, Disney executives hit paydirt with a show that not only resonated with Americans the first season, it worked for multiple seasons after as well.
Carrying on a TV Tradition
Being the brainchild of Tim Federle, the show’s producer, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, hit TV audiences with a perfect timing for a show launch. Coming off a slew of far too many reality shows, and a strong desire for actual talent entertainment thanks to similar shows like Glee, the High School Musical project magically picked up fans who were proactively looking for a singing-oriented replacement for regular entertainment. From there, the Musical went a bit viral.
An American Love Affair with Music Shows
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series isn’t the first TV show with music as an integral part of the script, nor will it likely be the last, apparently. American TV audiences have loved music shows and musicals since at least back to the early talent hours and presentations on early TV. The Ed Sullivan show, for example, was a classic display of music and talent weekly, defining American pop culture on TV before it was ever seen on a color screen.
The Show’s Support Has a History of Musicals Too
The fact that Disney decided to be the primary backer of High School Musical is fitting too. The company has a long history in music and big band entertainment, particularly family-oriented content. Additionally, it tied in well with Disney well-known format at its physical amusement parks as well, stocked full of shows and musical presentations as well. For those watching Disney recently, the move might have seem contradictory with the company’s focus on digital streaming, but clearly the management saw something in High School Musical that tied with its own entertainment roots.
While Disney will likely continue it’s push into additional diversity channels and paths, like Marvel Universe has been for them, it’s interesting to see they still have the willingness to develop shows like High School Musical: The Musical: The Series as well. The fans didn’t complain at all. In fact, when the show did end, they tried to lobby for more.
However, all good things must come to an end sometime. It’s why they stay good after the fact.