High School Musical: 20 Years Later

Summary

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Black People Love Paramore

Episode: "High School Musical: 20 Years Later"

Hosts: Sequoia Holmes & Ryan Graham
Date: January 22, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this lively, nostalgia-infused episode, Sequoia and Ryan celebrate the 20th anniversary of the original High School Musical (HSM), exploring its plot, legacy, characters, cultural impact, and how it fits within the unexpected Black experience. The duo dish out hot takes on the franchise’s rankings, speculate on character futures, dissect its music and style choices, and, true to the podcast’s motif, unearth what makes the HSM phenomenon so resonant (and divisive) in the Black community. Throughout, there’s plenty of laughter, playful shade, and irreverent trivia.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

HSM vs. Cheetah Girls: The Great Disney Channel Debate (00:56–01:35)

• Engagement Prompt:
  • Listeners are asked to pick sides (HSM vs. Cheetah Girls) and use respective emojis: 🏀 (basketball) for HSM, 🐆 (cheetah) for Cheetah Girls, 🍋 (lemon) for Lemonade Mouth.
• Quote:
  "If you're wrong, put a basketball emoji. And if you're correct and like me, then you put the Cheetah emoji because Cheetah is your life." – Sequoia (01:13)

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Plot & Themes Breakdown (01:38–04:46)

• Sequoia humorously attempts to summarize HSM’s plot, focusing on "outsiders infiltrating a theater group" and the social fallout.

• Unpacks themes:

  • Love (and unrequited love)
  • Racism/microaggressions, illustrated by how Chad and Zeke (the few Black characters) are boxed into stereotypes.
  • Quote:
    "They said, shut up and play basketball, you Black. That's what they said." – Sequoia (03:15)

• Ryan reframes the film’s bigger takeaway as “going out of your comfort zone and trying new things.”

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Character Breakdown & Favorites (04:47–07:29)

• Ryan: Sharpay Evans: “Sharpay is so fun. She is, like, technically, the antagonist. She is not a villain.” (05:00)
• Sequoia: None stand out strongly; maybe “Ryan, because he was gay, but not gay.” Appreciates the twins-as-phenomenon angle.

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Crystal Ball: Where Are They Now? (08:52–20:59)

A tongue-in-cheek superlatives game imagining the main characters at their 20th high school reunion:

• Troy & Gabriella – Divorced:
  "Troy's joining a fraternity, Trey might develop a low key drinking problem… Gabriella, she's there… but she's gotta work, focus on school. Ultimately… 'I gotta go my own way.'" – (14:31–14:54)

• Chad & Taylor (Monique) – Stay married, but messy:

  • Chad cheats with Ryan, but they stay together for public image. Monique is now a city councilwoman. (15:19–16:36)

• Sharpay – Moves to NYC, bit roles on Broadway, stays fabulous:

  • "Cast in Ryan Murphy productions constantly. Small roles, never leading." (17:03)
  • Still has her pink boa and self-confidence. (17:35–17:40)

• Ryan – Comes home, teaches theater, may have an unexplored relationship with Chad.

• Zeke – Owns a top NYC restaurant; reunites at the high school to flex. (18:45–19:11)

• Martha – Assistant choreographer & Cameo celeb, happiest of them all:

  • “Martha flies high, and I love that.” (20:54)

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Franchise Legacy, Cultural Impact, & Disney Channel Comparisons (09:10–11:21)

• HSM is described as having legs across generations, with Disney’s constant remakes (e.g., HSM: The Musical: The Series) giving it persistence akin to Breakfast Club for Gen Z.
• Discuss how 80s movies were “one-offs” while Disney built universes and megastars (e.g. Olivia Rodrigo) off HSM.

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Ranking the High School Musical Films (22:57–26:38)

Ryan's Ranking:

1. HSM 3: “Leaps, bounds, beyond. So much better. I saw it in theaters four times.” (23:39–23:50)
2. HSM 2: “Two is by far, it is so much better than one.” (25:41)
3. HSM 1: “One is actively bad.” (25:55)

Sequoia's Ranking:

1. HSM 2 (favorite, for its summer nostalgia)
2. HSM 3 (objectively best made)
3. HSM 1 (worst, “the styling is bad. The vocal mix of the music is bad.” 26:01)

Notable Rant:

• On Taylor’s wigs/headbands and the lack of Black hairstylists on set:
  "Let me tell you something, stylist of High School Musical, you will pay for your sins." – Sequoia (26:29)

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Behind the Scenes & Pop Culture Trivia (29:13–32:35)

• Drew Seeley: The “real” Troy vocals, not Zac Efron. Co-wrote "Get Your Head in the Game."

  • Delve into why Drew Seeley wasn’t cast as Troy (too much “swag”? Keke Palmer weighs in). (30:40–31:18)

• Jesse McCartney tidbits and early-2000s kids TV crossover politics.

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Zodiac Signs as HSM Characters (39:15–43:34)

• Each main character is assigned a zodiac sign based on their personality traits:
  • Chad: Aries
  • Taylor: Virgo or Capricorn
  • Troy: Cancer or Pisces (sensitive, prone to potential college vices)
  • Gabriella: Cancer or Scorpio
  • Sharpay: Leo (“She is pink top to bottom” – 42:01)
  • Ryan: Virgo (despite being Sharpay’s twin, distinctly different vibe)
  • Kelsey: Aquarius (the ultimate free spirit)
• Fun, intuitive discussion with astrological stereotyping. (39:15–43:34)

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“Would Sharpay Be a MAGA Supporter?” (43:47–44:41)

• Rapid analysis of which Disney Channel characters would be MAGA-adjacent in adulthood:
  • Ryan: “That goes without saying.”
  • Sequoia: “London Tipton, unforged maga... Montana, yes and no. She doesn't care about politics. She performs at the inauguration. You know what I mean?" (44:32)

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Lightning Round: HSM Film Trivia (44:51–48:06)

• Fun rapid-fire questions to test knowledge:
  • When Troy & Gabriella meet: New Year's Eve (45:06–45:13)
  • School location: Albuquerque, NM (46:23–46:38)
  • Troy’s jersey: #14 (47:03–47:05)
  • Zeke’s passion: Baking (47:19–47:22)
  • How many hats does Ryan wear? (47:36–47:58; answer: 15)
• Fans encouraged to play along and share scores.

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HSM vs. Cheetah Girls: The Final Word (48:04–49:14)

• Ryan argues HSM's superiority based on cultural legacy; Sequoia counters that “bigness” ≠ “better.”
  • "There is no world where High School Musical is smaller than Cheetah Girls. I'm sorry." – Ryan (48:28)
  • The debate continues in paid bonus content.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "She is not a villain. If anybody's a villain, it is Gabriella." – Sequoia (05:00)
• "You LeBron James dribble, fair." – Sequoia mocking how the movie treats Black characters (03:49)
• "The phenomenon of twins is interesting. So the genetics of Ryan and Sharpay..." – Sequoia (08:13)
• "Let me tell you something, stylist of High School Musical, you will pay for your sins." – Sequoia (26:29)
• "Sharpe did. Never knew Martha's name. Never knew her name. Didn't with her at all." – Sequoia, shading HSM clique politics (20:15)
• "Why do you have Spongebob pajamas as a 40 year old man? Please let it go." – Sequoia (38:47–38:52)
• "Kenny Ortega's entire foot was in that dish." – Ryan, on the franchise’s choreography (33:19)

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Timestamps: Major Segments

• 00:56 – 01:35 – Intro to the team debate: HSM vs. Cheetah Girls
• 01:38 – 04:46 – Attempted plot summary & theme analysis
• 04:47 – 07:29 – Character favorites (Sharpay, twins), plus hair mishaps
• 08:52 – 20:59 – 20th reunion: Superlatives/game (“Where are they now?”)
• 22:57 – 26:38 – Film rankings & defense (HSM3 vs. HSM2)
• 29:13 – 32:35 – Drew Seeley vocals drama & 2000s pop trivia
• 39:15 – 43:34 – Matching HSM characters with zodiac signs
• 43:47 – 44:41 – Would Sharpay or London Tipton be MAGA?
• 44:51 – 48:06 – Lightning round: HSM trivia
• 48:04 – 49:14 – HSM vs. Cheetah Girls: Who reigns?

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Tone & Style

True to the Black People Love Paramore voice: irreverent, playful, reflective, and at times shaded with biting wit. There’s a genuine affection for the subject, plus a signature willingness to lovingly roast, digress, and bring in cultural sidebars (from Black hair politics to zodiac signs, 2000s TV, and the absurdities of Disney Channel styling).

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Takeaway

This episode brings a funny, highly relatable Black millennial take on a pop culture juggernaut, mixing insightful nostalgia, real talk about representation, and no-holds-barred fandom debates. By the end, listeners are left both entertained and invited to weigh in—on rankings, HSM’s legacy, and which Disney Channel classic really deserves the crown.

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Transcript

[Ryan]

Foreign.

[Sequoia]

Welcome to Black People Love Paramore, a podcast not about the band Paramore, but about the common as well as the uncommon interests of black people in order to help us feel a little bit more safe seen. I'm Sequoia.

[Ryan]

And I'm Ryan.

[Sequoia]

And per usual, if you don't mind, take a little second. Go on your Spotify app, go on your Apple podcast app, whatever it is that you listen, rate us five stars.

[Ryan]

Five stars.

[Sequoia]

That would be super ideal. Four at, you know, the lowest. It's the lowest I'm willing to go. I don't think you should. Not ideal. But five would be ideal. I really appreciate that. Also, you can comment to us. Love a comment. Ryan's really good at calling out reasons for people to comment.

[Ryan]

So if you feel like we'll get into the argument later, you should comment below. Why High School Musical is a better movie than Cheetah Girls. Why the franchise is better. And then that. I think that way. And if you disagree and you're wrong.

[Sequoia]

If you're wrong, if you are a Cheetah Girl person, put the Cheetah emoji.

[Ryan]

And if you're a High School Musical person, put a basketball emoji.

[Sequoia]

There we go. There we go. If you're wrong, put a basketball cheetah emoji. Right. And if you're correct and like me, then you put the Cheetah emoji because Cheetah is your life.

[Ryan]

Right. I guess that's fair. And I guess, suppose if you were a Gen Z and you were like, oh, I'm a Descendants girly, or a lemonade mouth. I suppose there are emojis there as well.

[Sequoia]

I like lemonade mouth. You can put a lemon for lemonade mouth.

[Ryan]

See, and that's where we differ because.

[Sequoia]

I do like Lemonade mouth. They had good music. Lemonade Mouth music. It smacked as a pop punk girly lemonade mouse music was doing what it needs to do for me. For those of you who don't know, I'm going to try to sum up the plot of High School Musical without looking at the plot. I'm really not good at these types of things at all.

[Ryan]

Okay.

[Sequoia]

Like very much not good at this type of thing. I think High School Musical is a tale about outsiders infiltrating a theater group.

[Ryan]

Okay.

[Sequoia]

Oh.

[Ryan]

Oh. That is the end. And that was the movie. Wow. Disney Channel.

[Sequoia]

And then their friends trying to prevent them from infiltrating it. The long standing guard within the theater group also trying to prevent them from infiltrating it. And then them Also finding love along the way within each other, but then almost not finding love within each other because Troy was taken aback by what his friends wanted.

[Ryan]

Sure.

[Sequoia]

And he went with that for a little bit.

[Ryan]

Okay.

[Sequoia]

And then Gabriella found out and she. Her feelings were hurt.

[Ryan]

Okay. Like when you were first starting this, I thought you was going to go like, overall theme of like what the movie was. And that's not. So you were trying to go for plot.

[Sequoia]

I can do theme. No, I can do themes. There's love, there's requited love. There's.

[Ryan]

I think love and required love are the same. Unrequited love.

[Sequoia]

You can be in love one way and not two ways. Anyways, a love could not be a two way street. It could be a one way street.

[Ryan]

Yeah, that's unrequited love. That's not requited love.

[Sequoia]

Okay, and what about it? And then what is another theme? Racism. Because tell Chad to stop. Stick to the stuff he knows. They said, shut up and play basketball, you black. That's what they said.

[Ryan]

I forgot. When you said Chad, I was thinking Troy and Fair.

[Sequoia]

Yeah, they didn't say it to Troy. They said it to. No, they didn't say Chad. They said it to Zeke because he's trying to make.

[Ryan]

They were trying to keep him down. Wow.

[Sequoia]

The only monoracial black man in the film.

[Ryan]

And they were like.

[Sequoia]

And they said, you LeBron James dribble fair.

[Ryan]

They did.

[Sequoia]

So that's the premise of High School Musical in a nutshell.

[Ryan]

Yeah, I think you did a. You did a pretty.

[Sequoia]

I would say if you think I did really good, leave 5 stars in the comments. So type out 5 stars in the comments.

[Ryan]

I think give on a scale of 1 to 5.

[Sequoia]

And if you don't think I did really good, don't comment anything. Leave me the hell alone. Because I did the best that I could with what I got.

[Ryan]

I'm going to do the best with what I got. That's crazy to me. Like that, like, I guess. Yes. To me the overall theme is going out of your comfort zone and trying new things because you don't know what you'll find on the other side. That is like. I think that's the only thing missing from your plot is that like, yes, you hit all the plot points. But I think the lesson is.

[Sequoia]

Well, I think that. I think you. You could have implied that based on what I said.

[Ryan]

Oh, right, sorry. I forgot. I am not an infer. I need. I need things spelled out.

[Sequoia]

Plain things really like spelled out. And I. It really Was implied, so.

[Ryan]

Okay, my bad. I did not read.

[Sequoia]

Yeah, that's okay.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Sequoia]

Who's your favorite character? You know, I do know who your favorite character is, and I get. And I bet you everybody could guess.

[Ryan]

Yeah. It's 100% Sharpay Evans. Like, Sharpay is so fun. I know. She is, like, technically, the. She is the antagonist. She is not a villain.

[Sequoia]

She's not. She is not a villain. If anybody's a villain, it is Gabriella.

[Ryan]

I agree. I'm just saying, like, if I am the lead. I have been working hard in this theater. I have. I've given my life to my art. And then all of a sudden, these two randos come in. You do science, you do basketball. Why are you here? And then you're causing a kerfuffle. You're causing a disturbance.

[Sequoia]

I don't.

[Ryan]

You're bothering me.

[Sequoia]

You're making a farce of the theater.

[Ryan]

A farce of the theater. Exactly. As a theater kid, I, too, was annoyed by it.

[Sequoia]

And you don't like that.

[Ryan]

I sure don't.

[Sequoia]

It's offensive to your culture because, you.

[Ryan]

Know, I gave up my hair for the art. I.

[Sequoia]

He did. Please tell the police.

[Ryan]

Tell the people what happened once we did a. We did not Hairspray. We did. What the is the movie? Wedding Singer the musical. We did Wedding Singer the musical in high school. It's an 80s musical. So I was like, you know what? I'm gonna get a perm to get a Jheri curl, a Jerry curl for the art. Because that was of the time in the 80s. I put that perm on my hair.

[Sequoia]

My edges never came. Went all the way. They ran to the back of your scalp so fast.

[Ryan]

It's okay. I'm gonna book a flight to Turkey soon, and it will restore.

[Sequoia]

I get that. I mean. And I really do relate to that. The same thing happened to me.

[Ryan]

You for the art.

[Sequoia]

When I got.

[Ryan]

You, too. Were doing it.

[Sequoia]

I was 5, and my mom decided to put a perm in my hair. And ever since then, my hair has not been long and luscious.

[Ryan]

You know what's crazy? I just. I thought because you were Italian that.

[Sequoia]

Like, that it would just, like, come back. Right. Well, we're working on it now. Oh, yeah.

[Ryan]

Okay.

[Sequoia]

So my Italian roots will show. Oh.

[Ryan]

Oh.

[Sequoia]

Very shortly. So, like, don't. Don't. Don't even worry about it.

[Ryan]

It'll.

[Sequoia]

It'll be back very Shortly, but, yeah, 100%.

[Ryan]

I think Shar Pei is my favorite. I think it's weird in my brain I think I'm much more villainous than I actually am in real life. I see myself. I'm like, oh. I'm like. And I'm actually quite kind.

[Sequoia]

You're really not villainous. Yeah. I wouldn't call you villainous at all.

[Ryan]

Thank you.

[Sequoia]

Yeah.

[Ryan]

But, yeah, I love Shar.

[Sequoia]

I'm antagonistic. I'm not villainous, but I am. I do enjoy a little irritation, you know what I mean? I would like to shake it up a little bit.

[Ryan]

Who's your favorite character? Do you have one from this?

[Sequoia]

You know what? I'm actually thinking about it. And I was like, I don't think I have a favorite character from high school music. I'm not tied to any of these people.

[Ryan]

Characters I would also see, like, knowing you, I don't think any of them have enough. Cause even Sharpay, who has. I'm going to put in quotations. Edge. None of them actually have edge.

[Sequoia]

None of them have enough. Yeah, they're not interesting enough. You know, like, I'm like, okay, I guess maybe, maybe Ryan, because he was gay, but not gay.

[Ryan]

Yeah, that was okay. It was weird.

[Sequoia]

And I do like that. Like, I was like, oh, yeah, Yeah.

[Ryan]

I wonder why they never. I mean, I guess it was High School Musical. It was Disney Channel in 2005. So, like, of course they were not doing that. But I wonder, in today's world, I bet he would be gay, like, if they.

[Sequoia]

Yeah.

[Ryan]

Did he come back on the show?

[Sequoia]

I think there's a retcon where he's gay.

[Ryan]

I don't know what a retcon means. Should I know that word? Should I know that word? Maybe.

[Sequoia]

Now, what is the actual meaning of the word? I don't know, but it's a retroactive fiction.

[Ryan]

Oh, gotcha.

[Sequoia]

I can't remember what, like, the abbreviation.

[Ryan]

Is retcon, but retroactive canon, like canon con C A N. Yeah, sure, let's go with that. Him being. But of course, like, yeah, especially early 2000s, like, all the energy was very much like, closeted gay boy in the theater.

[Sequoia]

I get it.

[Ryan]

I, too, was closeted gay boy in the theater.

[Sequoia]

And I really like twins. I have a thing about twins. I really like. Like, I find the. The phenomenon of twins interesting. So the genetics of Ryan and Sharpay, it did not cross my mind. You never knew that they were twins.

[Ryan]

It obviously makes sense that they are twins. Yeah. But it never once clicked or entered my brain that they had to be twins.

[Sequoia]

Yeah, of course they are twins.

[Ryan]

Do they address that in the movie?

[Sequoia]

I don't Think they ever say that they're twins? I don't think that's what. I don't think they ever spell out twin.

[Ryan]

But I'm like, but they must be. There's no other world for that to make sense. But no, I've never, ever, ever. And I love High School Musical. Not once did I think, oh, yeah, they're clearly twins.

[Sequoia]

Yeah, they're twins. So if I had to have a favorite character, it would be those two. It would be those two for sure. Also, I forgot to mention we're doing this because it is the 20th anniversary of high School Musical. High School Musical came out in 2006. It is 2026. It is officially like, well, I was born in the 90s. So when you're.

[Ryan]

I'm gonna pause. I didn't like the way you said, well, I was born in the 90s. As if I was not.

[Sequoia]

I was 1989.

[Ryan]

Don't you even like how? It's not even fun.

[Sequoia]

I thought you loved that album. Aren't you?

[Ryan]

But because I do love 1989.

[Sequoia]

I love that because it was your.

[Ryan]

You don't go away. You know, that was not born.

[Sequoia]

You act like something wrong being born 1980.

[Ryan]

There's nothing wrong with. I just wasn't. Okay, okay, sure. I'm older. Just a few years.

[Sequoia]

Just a few years. Anyways, it is the 20th anniversary, so it's pretty much like when your parents were talking about how Sixteen Candles was such an interesting film, and you're like, that old ass. Is it in black and white? That's like the CU. You're like, is feels it was made in the 20th century. Was it made in the 1900s?

[Ryan]

It hurts me to think that, like, this is the Breakfast Club for kids.

[Sequoia]

Exactly.

[Ryan]

They 100% are like, oh, yeah, that old movie that, like, maybe I've seen.

[Sequoia]

Right.

[Ryan]

I sort of understand.

[Sequoia]

Isn't that crazy?

[Ryan]

It is crazy.

[Sequoia]

Now I will say I feel like the cachet of High School Musical has lasted a long, long time. Like, my niece is 13, and she likes High School. The. The series, of course. And she. Olivia Rodrigo's really hard, and Sabrina Carpenter is really hard and is really into that whole thing. So it's like, it has legs. You know what I mean? So when I say high school, she's like, yeah, I have a reference point. I understand.

[Ryan]

That's what I think. It's because Disney Channel like to, like, run things to the ground. Sure did that. Like, once it was a hit. It was like, oh, you're doing this five times.

[Sequoia]

1,000%.

[Ryan]

Whereas, like, Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, like the kind of like the Brat Pack. All of that happened, and it was like, one offs. But, like, Disney kept this going.

[Sequoia]

Yes.

[Ryan]

And so, like. Like you were saying, your niece has reference points that are modern and even, like, High School Musical, the musical, the series, which in some world, like, I think Disney Channel isn't as popular as it was when we were kids.

[Sequoia]

Right.

[Ryan]

But it still produced a mega star. And so I think that Disney has a. A kind of. Well, no.

[Sequoia]

Yeah. Olivia and Sabrina.

[Ryan]

Sabrina's not from that.

[Sequoia]

Yeah, she is. She's from. No, she's from Disney.

[Ryan]

She is a Disney kid. Yeah, but I mean, like, directly. I meant specifically High School Musical. I'm talking about specifically this universe. There's another mega star out of it.

[Sequoia]

That's very true. Oh, got it. In a world universe, there is another megastar. That's very fair.

[Ryan]

Right. And I feel like, like, the. Those 80s movies obviously produced megastars for the time, but they didn't. Like, there wasn't, like, a sequel to Breakfast Club. There wasn't, like, a sequel to Sixteen Candles that produced another, like, household name about it.

[Sequoia]

Exactly. That's the whole thing.

[Ryan]

But yeah.

[Sequoia]

Okay. Oh, no, no, no. I was gonna say who my favorite character is, and I already went to the.

[Ryan]

You said the twins.

[Sequoia]

I wanted to do, like, a superlatives type game fun, where it's like, which character do you think would return to the 20th anniversary and would have three kids, be divorced?

[Ryan]

Well, who? 100. Troy and Gabriella.

[Sequoia]

You think Troy divorced? They don't make it.

[Ryan]

No, girl.

[Sequoia]

You don't believe in high school, Roman?

[Ryan]

I sure don't.

[Sequoia]

Me neither.

[Ryan]

Troy and Gabriella were gonna go off, you said, Me neither. Gabriella are gonna go off to Stanford. Troy's gonna go like, Troy's not going to Stanford. Does that. Oh, you're right. She's going. She got into Stanford. He's going to Stanford. She is going to Stanford. Where did he go?

[Sequoia]

Troy was never going to Stanford. It didn't matter.

[Ryan]

What he did was that.

[Sequoia]

That was.

[Ryan]

The whole point of. That was the plot of the third one that she got into Stanford. Early March, early admission.

[Sequoia]

Yeah, she, like, went away and stayed on the campus way earlier.

[Ryan]

Makes no sense because this was the middle of the school year.

[Sequoia]

Well, this was when DEI was still allowed, so. So they took underrepresented children. Gabriella Montes.

[Ryan]

Right, right, right.

[Sequoia]

You know, and they said, come on, acclimated to Stanford's culture.

[Ryan]

We'll, like, integrate you. So that way it's a smooth ride.

[Sequoia]

It's a smooth integration.

[Ryan]

I like that.

[Sequoia]

You hear all the buzzwords.

[Ryan]

Right. Are you saying Troy was not smart enough to go to Stanford?

[Sequoia]

Correct. Oh.

[Ryan]

Oh, you're not even hesitating.

[Sequoia]

No.

[Ryan]

You don't think his ball, like his ball game wasn't good enough to.

[Sequoia]

I don't even think his ball game was good enough to go to Sanford.

[Ryan]

What was the school he was. I should know?

[Sequoia]

Well, he went to like Santa and Santa. San Antonio University or some shit.

[Ryan]

What college?

[Sequoia]

Oh, no, he went to Berkeley. Oh, okay.

[Ryan]

So it doesn't act like I think. Yeah, I don't think he was going to like, a dumb college. I mean, no dick colleges. Where did Troy Bolton go to college? I think it was local. Moral of the story, you look this up. Why are you looking? I'm saying Troy.

[Sequoia]

Berkeley.

[Ryan]

Oh, so, okay, they both went to like, like Ivies, basically, or the Ivys of the West.

[Sequoia]

Okay. Stanford is a private school. Berkeley. And again, I want you to see Santa Cruz. So eat me up if you must. It is what it is. Berkeley is a public school that does have a sports focus to some degree in a way that Stanford, it also has a sports focus, but not like a public school would. You know what I mean?

[Ryan]

No, no, I know exactly what you mean. Like, like also like Harvard and all the Ivies have sports and they do things, but it's not like the sec.

[Sequoia]

And I will say, like a bigger sports focus than like a Harvard or a Princeton or something. But Berkeley is admitted, like, kind of can be a sports school. It is an academic school, but it also is a sports school.

[Ryan]

So it makes sense for him to go there.

[Sequoia]

So it makes sense for him to go to Berkeley.

[Ryan]

And I feel like Stanford and Berkeley are not too. No, they're not far apart. Yeah, I'm saying they're like up in.

[Sequoia]

The bay, just like a couple, maybe an hour or two drive.

[Ryan]

Okay.

[Sequoia]

Something like that.

[Ryan]

So to my point, yeah, I believe that Troy and Gabriella go to college. Y. I believe that they date. Troy's joining fraternity. Trey might develop a low key drinking problem.

[Sequoia]

He can't join a fraternity. He plays basketball.

[Ryan]

He's gonna try, okay?

[Sequoia]

He's gonna try to join a fraternity, okay.

[Ryan]

He's gonna get a drinking problem, okay? That scholarship out the window, you know, that's the point.

[Sequoia]

He's losing that damn scholarship. That scholarship gone, semester one.

[Ryan]

He'll make it to his academic probation. Academic probation, semester one, okay? And then scholarship's gone.

[Sequoia]

He's staying in school, okay?

[Ryan]

He tries to turn his life around.

[Sequoia]

Okay, okay.

[Ryan]

Gabriella, she's there. She's trying to help Troy through it, but she's got to work, focus on school.

[Sequoia]

And ultimately, she said, listen, Troy, Troy, you playing? You know, you fucking your life up. You got all this alcohol, this drinking, like, Troy. What? I am a scientist at Stanford. What, you're an alcoholic at UC Berkeley?

[Ryan]

And what do you think? And our lives are just going in different directions.

[Sequoia]

You know what I mean? I gotta go my own way.

[Ryan]

I gotta go my own way.

[Sequoia]

What about us?

[Ryan]

Bet on it.

[Sequoia]

Bet on it. Bet. You better, Troy. You better get your head in the motherfucking game, Troy, before you lose me for good. So I can definitely see that happening. So they come back. That feels plausible to me. So they come back divorced. They're divorced.

[Ryan]

No. I guess they didn't have kids. At this point, I think Monique and Chad 100% do get married.

[Sequoia]

They do get married, and they do have kids.

[Ryan]

And you know what else happens?

[Sequoia]

He cheats on her, but they stay together with Ryan. Ooh.

[Ryan]

That's the thing. Cause, you know, there's that theory that, like, at the end of. What is it not? The boys are back. It's the.

[Sequoia]

The baseball one.

[Ryan]

Baseball game. Yeah. I forget that. I hate High School Musical 2. I will say that. The worst of them all. We'll get to the ranking. It's the wor. It's the worst, and I hate it. The only song I like is Fabulous.

[Sequoia]

That's my favorite one.

[Ryan]

I'm gonna put a pin in it.

[Sequoia]

We'll get back to it. I'm offended and I'm upset. It's fine.

[Ryan]

High School Musical. Let's move on quickly.

[Sequoia]

Okay.

[Ryan]

We have to.

[Sequoia]

Okay.

[Ryan]

Because there's a thing. At the end of the baseball song, they switch clothes. So there's always this, like. Yes. If they start, Chad is in the baseball uniform. Ryan is in, like, his. Like, I'm a theater kid.

[Sequoia]

Yeah.

[Ryan]

And at the end of it, they are swapped outfits. So there's always.

[Sequoia]

I never noticed that. Did you notice it watching it?

[Sierra Kato]

Yes.

[Ryan]

There's fanfic that they, like, ran off, hooked up, and then came back, and that was a thing. So this is, like, subplot.

[Sequoia]

I could easily see that. That makes so much sense. So they do get married. So it's a lavender relationship.

[Ryan]

Well, no, no. She doesn't know. Monique is. Actually. She would. Monique feels too. This is good for my image.

[Sequoia]

You know what? 1,000%.

[Ryan]

She's 100%.

[Sequoia]

They're both in it for the image, you know, where it's like, yeah, yeah, you cool?

[Ryan]

Or whatever.

[Sequoia]

Yeah, we can do this. We can have a couple kids. I'm gonna be fucking Ryan at the end of the day.

[Ryan]

And I feel like Monique is 100. Like, running for a Congress seat or Senate seat in there are some type of.

[Sequoia]

Yes, she's 100,000%. Yeah. She's running for city council. Right, right. Something like that. The board. Yeah. And that's why. Because you have to have that as a woman. So that makes sense.

[Ryan]

So that's what they're doing. So they come back, and so there's. There's secrets running around there. Okay.

[Sequoia]

Now, Sharpay. What do you think Sharpay's doing?

[Ryan]

She's not coming back.

[Sequoia]

She's not coming back.

[Ryan]

She didn't come.

[Sequoia]

She moved to New York.

[Ryan]

We do know she moved to New York.

[Sequoia]

Absolutely.

[Ryan]

She tried to make her big dream on Broadway. She did a couple of plays. She did well.

[Sequoia]

Yeah.

[Ryan]

Cast and Ryan Murphy productions constantly.

[Sequoia]

Wow.

[Ryan]

Small roles, never leading. I know. So good. Not bad.

[Sequoia]

Similar to Troy, she realized she was a big fish in a small pond. When they were in Albuquerque.

[Ryan]

Absolutely.

[Sequoia]

When they were the Wildcats. And then when they got to the big city, when they got to, you know, the D1 schools, you can swim, they said, yeah, yeah, you're not gonna be the star here, babe.

[Ryan]

And that's fine.

[Sequoia]

Yeah, that's it.

[Ryan]

I don't think she's not doing well.

[Sequoia]

Do you think she humbled herself? Do you think she has a level of humility about her now? You think she's still running around with the pink boa?

[Ryan]

Certainly that.

[Sequoia]

And you know what?

[Ryan]

You know, she kept it. She kept the level.

[Sequoia]

She kept it.

[Ryan]

She said, you know what? I won't let it keep me down.

[Sequoia]

Ryan Murphy wouldn't have her any other way, so she had to keep that going.

[Ryan]

Yeah, that's. That's what we got. Our cats.

[Sequoia]

Yeah.

[Ryan]

Because she was actually auditioning and she was trying to play a part. Turn it up.

[Sequoia]

I like that one. Yeah, that one. Give her a little something.

[Ryan]

Yeah. She was gonna get caught.

[Sequoia]

She can't carry. But give her a little something.

[Ryan]

Give her something, and then that's why she's there.

[Sequoia]

So.

[Ryan]

Yeah, so, yeah, she's doing well.

[Sequoia]

And what do you think Ryan's doing?

[Ryan]

Fucking Chad.

[Sequoia]

So he's still at home. He's in Albuquerque.

[Ryan]

He is now the theater teacher at.

[Sequoia]

You think his twin went out in New York?

[Ryan]

He went, too. He tried. He tried.

[Sequoia]

He was just too nice. He wasn't cutthroat Enough.

[Ryan]

Right?

[Sequoia]

Okay. She was like, I can't live. He was like, I can't live like this.

[Ryan]

I gotta go home. He was like, I miss home.

[Sequoia]

Yeah.

[Ryan]

They both went out.

[Sequoia]

She tried.

[Ryan]

And I missed Chad.

[Sequoia]

Yeah.

[Ryan]

Yeah, he did.

[Sequoia]

He was a choice. I remember what we had, Chad. Yeah.

[Ryan]

And if you really look at it, they were never gonna. Sharpay was always like, you're here. But Sharpay was always Sharpay.

[Sequoia]

Yeah.

[Ryan]

And he was just like her sidekick.

[Sequoia]

Yeah. Okay, that makes sense. And what do you think Zeke is doing? So Zeke is the basketball player that baked that was into Sharpay. For a second, him and Sharpay had a thing. You think Zeke.

[Ryan]

He moved to New York, too.

[Sequoia]

He move. Move to New York too.

[Ryan]

He moved to New York and was like, working with Sharpe. They. When? Before she got her. Her roles, she was working in a restaurant. He was in the kitchen.

[Sequoia]

Okay.

[Ryan]

You know what's crazy? He worked his way all the way up, and now he has one of the hottest restaurants in New York City, period. So he goes.

[Sequoia]

I love that for Z. He goes back.

[Ryan]

He goes back in order to show.

[Sequoia]

Them, give a little bit of flex. He said, I know. You see the Rollies? Yeah, yeah. Something about that Rollie, when I first touched that wrist. Great. Okay.

[Ryan]

It's great.

[Sequoia]

I love that physique.

[Ryan]

Got a nice black white. Of course he does.

[Sequoia]

Well, naturally. Well, I don't know. Cause he was trying to fuck with Sharpay first time anyways. Neither here nor there. Sure. Dip your foot in the snow if you want to for a second. Okay. What do you think Martha is doing right now, 20 years later at the reunion?

[Ryan]

Who the hell is that?

[Sequoia]

Does she show up? Martha is pop and lock and jam and break. That's Martha.

[Ryan]

Okay. Oh, okay. Martha is the assistant teacher to the theater department. Whoa. Yeah.

[Sequoia]

She really found her stride. She's the choreographer.

[Ryan]

Yes.

[Sequoia]

She choreographs the pieces.

[Ryan]

She does and does cameos.

[Sequoia]

Yes. She's like 100%. She pops in. She expects applause from the crowd.

[Ryan]

Oh, 100%.

[Sequoia]

Yes.

[Ryan]

She's like. No, I mean, like, she is on the app. Cameo. That is my bad. I should be more specific.

[Sequoia]

She does cameos as the assistant choreographer.

[Ryan]

Because she knows Sharpay Evans.

[Sequoia]

Evans. She screaming, I'm Sharpe Evans. Former best friend, mind you.

[Ryan]

They did not know each other.

[Sequoia]

Sharpe did. Never knew Martha's name. Never knew her name. Didn't with her at all. 100.

[Ryan]

Yeah, that's 100.

[Sequoia]

Okay. Okay. I can definitely see that for Martha.

[Ryan]

She went to the high school Reunion. She was there. She planned it.

[Sequoia]

She. She was a class president 100. She made them do a flash mob at their graduation.

[Ryan]

Of course.

[Sequoia]

Yes.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Sequoia]

Or for, like, their senior day.

[Ryan]

Yeah. Their senior prank was.

[Sequoia]

Yeah, it was a flash mob choreographed by Martha, of course, that most people were interested in participating in. So it was small group, Right? It was a flash group, not a mob. A flash group. Yeah. Okay.

[Ryan]

But good for Martha. But she's happy.

[Sequoia]

But she's really happy. She's the happiest of them, in fact, 100% way happier than everybody else.

[Ryan]

Martha flies high, and I love that.

[Sequoia]

And I do love that. I'm really happy for Martha in that way.

[Ryan]

That is true.

[Sierra Kato]

Hello, I'm Sierra Kato, host of TV Chef Fantasy League, and I'm here with Max Fund Member of the month, Dan Kotnik, who has been a Maximum fund member since 2023.

[Dan Kotnik]

Thank you very much.

[Sierra Kato]

As the Max Fund Member of the month, Dan, you'll be getting a $25 gift card to the Maximum Fund store and you get a of the Month bumper sticker. This is a huge one. You get a parking spot at Max Fun Headquarters HQ in Los Angeles, California.

[Sequoia]

Sounds good.

[Sierra Kato]

Is there anything else you'd like to add as member of the month?

[Dan Kotnik]

This is my opportunity to say thank you to everyone that is a part of Maximum Fun, because you guys have just created a media environment that clearly resonates with a lot of people. Being able to do that organically is really impressive. And I think that's the root of why I've been such a big supporter. And so I want to just thank you guys for committing to that goal.

[Sierra Kato]

It's for members like you, Dan, and you specifically are member of the month for a reason.

[Dan Kotnik]

Thanks. Bye.

[Sequoia]

Become a Max Fund member [e-mail] join. Foreign. Okay. Because you're gonna piss me off already.

[Ryan]

Sure.

[Sequoia]

Please rank the films.

[Ryan]

Okay, so what I want to say.

[Sequoia]

The High School Musical films.

[Ryan]

Oh, well, what else would I. Oh, yeah, well, High School music. That's true. Not going to do it like all the High School Musical movies, I suppose. Lemonade mouth, 13th year.

[Sequoia]

You're bigger. Seen Lemonade Mouth?

[Ryan]

I'm trying to think like, don't look under the bed.

[Sequoia]

Never laid eyes on Lemonade Mouth. Couldn't tell me the plot of Phantom of the Megaplex.

[Ryan]

Truly, you could give me most decoms and then cheated.

[Sequoia]

You're lying. You're rage baiting and I won't fall for it.

[Ryan]

Raking the High School Musical. My movies. So I think it goes without saying High School Musical 3 is by Beyond. Leaps, bounds, bounds.

[Sequoia]

Okay, so how about you rank it based on which ones you like the best?

[Ryan]

High School Musical, three leaps, bound, Beyond. It is. It is so much better. I saw it in theaters four times.

[Sequoia]

Okay.

[Ryan]

I skipped school one day with my theater group to go to the Belton Movie Theater in Belton, Missouri, because it was, like, the middle of the day and we knew no one would be there, and we performed it. Literally. We all picked characters and we performed in an empty theater because I love High School Musical theater.

[Sequoia]

You know, I, I, I assume that you were, like, one of the cool kids in high school, but I guess sometimes you just don't know it. Know a person for real. Once you meet them in adult life, you don't really know.

[Ryan]

I was.

[Sequoia]

You don't know what type of you're dealing with.

[Ryan]

Actually, you think that that was not cool of me.

[Sequoia]

I skipped school to go see High School Musical and matinee. High School Musical and dance. And dance in the front of the movie theater. Okay.

[Ryan]

Honestly, one of my favorite memories. That was so fun.

[Sequoia]

It honestly does sound really fun. That's something I would have actively liked to do for sure.

[Ryan]

But, yeah. So I, I do hold. I think the music is better, but it also, I will add, it literally just has budget. And it was a theatrical release.

[Sequoia]

Yes. So, like, big budget. Big budget, big budget.

[Ryan]

It's unfair that it is better, but it is.

[Sequoia]

And it was more emotionally provoking, I will say, because it was the ending and you knew that, like, we were not getting another. When I cried, it was also like.

[Ryan]

Either the year before or the year of my senior year.

[Sequoia]

Yeah.

[Ryan]

And I was also. I was like, that's what I'm saying. So that's why it also hit us so hard, because we were the kids literally watching, like, you know what I mean? So it felt so I'm, like, literally getting, like, chills about it. Like, it was just such a heartfelt thing. So that's why I think it has a special place in my heart.

[Sequoia]

Okay, so you got High School Musical. Three is number one.

[Ryan]

I, before really sitting with it, I was always gonna put High School Musical one before two. I hated two. When two dropped, I was like, I don't get it. I don't, like, bet on it. Everyone's always doing it, thinking it's funny. I don't think it's funny. I don't think it's cute.

[Sequoia]

You don't think it's funny?

[Ryan]

I know it looks dusty. The hair's uneven. Like. Like that Gabriella song. I actually hate anybody. No, don't. I hated it. The Pots and Pan song hates now.

[Sequoia]

I don't like that Pots and Pans song either.

[Ryan]

Work it out. I will add when with some time that has passed and I have grown up and actually gone back and watched them. Two is by far. It is so much better than one. So it goes in order. Three, two, one.

[Sequoia]

Okay. It does.

[Ryan]

One is. Is actively bad.

[Sequoia]

Yes.

[Ryan]

In a way that I did not expect it to be.

[Sequoia]

One is bad.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Sequoia]

The styling is bad. The vocal mix of the music is bad. They got Drew Seeley singing on top of Troy. They got Gabriella and somebody, some random girl singing in between her notes. It's crazy.

[Ryan]

It sounds bad. Even though when they are doing their things, I'm like, oh, your voice hurts to hear.

[Sequoia]

Yeah, it's a little grating.

[Ryan]

Yeah. Grading is the word.

[Sequoia]

I don't like it.

[Ryan]

Style bad. Monique got every hoop hearing.

[Sequoia]

Wigs. Let me tell you something, stylist of High School Musical, you will pay for your sins. Why did you have her in those old church lady wigs? You're pissing me off.

[Ryan]

100.

[Sequoia]

They were like, with those headbands. Yeah. In fact, it wasn't her. It wasn't. It wasn't this. It wasn't the stylist. I remember Monique saying it was her decision. Or the actress who plays Monique.

[Ryan]

I think her name is also Monique. I think.

[Sequoia]

Isn't it Monique?

[Ryan]

I believe her name is Monique Coleman in real life.

[Sequoia]

What is her name on the.

[Ryan]

What is her name? I think it's Monique in both. I'm gonna look at up.

[Sequoia]

Monique Coleman is her. Is her name.

[Ryan]

I'm certain she's Monique in the movie. Like, I'm not even.

[Sequoia]

She is not. She's Taylor McKessie.

[Ryan]

Oh, she was. Is it racist to call her her name? What? Oh, we. Cuz I just named her Monique in the movie Monique.

[Sequoia]

That was racist.

[Ryan]

Whatever. She Monique me.

[Sequoia]

Anyways, Taylor. Monique said it was her decision to have Taylor wear the headbands, I believe, because the hair stylist on set didn't know how to do black hair. And so Taylor was like, you're not about to play in my hair and play in my face. Like. Like, we'll put a wig on. I'll put a headband on, and that'll be Monique's character.

[Ryan]

Oh, okay.

[Sequoia]

And that sucks.

[Ryan]

It does suck. Because especially, like, early 2000s, they were not. I'm sure they didn't have stylists on their life.

[Sequoia]

And they Made her look really. It made her look really old. Like, and she wasn't old. And now when I see her now, I'm like, damn, she looks so Young to be 20 years later. And it's because she styled her age instead of styled like a deaconess at the church.

[Ryan]

She did. Deaconess at the church is so accurate. She 100% dressed up like a preacher's kid. She did in Bible study after school every week.

[Sequoia]

And I wasn't going to go if she was the one that was putting it on because I didn't like the way that she looked. How did her and Gabriella.

[Ryan]

Because Gabriella was new. How did they. They just became friends. Like, they.

[Sequoia]

Because they're both smart.

[Ryan]

Oh, that's right.

[Sequoia]

They're both smart. They were doing science or something. And. And she was like, you need to join the Mathletes. And she was like, that's social suicide.

[Ryan]

You know, that's wrong with you. But I'm understanding.

[Sequoia]

I mean, actually it is. Actually, it is wrong.

[Ryan]

So I also believe Chad or Corbin Blue. I don't remember if it was one or two. I know one of the movies. He also. It was like in the DCOM extras, he was like, I made all these T shirts. I wrote all the jokes on my shirts. So anytime I had, like, corn, like, he was like, that was me. And I'm like, okay. You seem thoroughly unimpressed.

[Sequoia]

I've never been a Chad girl. Like, everybody, everybody was enamored by him. Even when he was in Jump in with Kiki Palmer, High School Musical. I've never been.

[Ryan]

It makes sense. A Corbin Blue girl, but light skin.

[Sequoia]

Curly hair, and that big curly. I was like, no, I just don't. I'm not into this at all.

[Ryan]

Yeah, I get it.

[Sequoia]

I like Low Cut Cesar with the deep Waves. You know what I mean?

[Ryan]

I need a soldier who was scared to stand up.

[Sequoia]

And he very much wasn't giving that. No, he was giving. Fellow princess.

[Ryan]

Speaking of Drew Seeley.

[Sequoia]

Yeah.

[Ryan]

He was recently on a podcast, so it's called get yout Head in the Game. It's the podcast of the dad. He played the dad in High School Musical. He has a podcast called get yout.

[Sequoia]

Head in the Game. Okay.

[Ryan]

Drew Sealy was on it talking about recording the vocals for Zach. So Drew Seeley also co wrote which song? One of the songs on the first movie. And so Kenny Ortega, like, was like, oh, you can do the songs. Zach was filming Hairspray, so he couldn't do the tour. And so Drew Seeley had to go on tour, when I did it, he was. It was really hard because, like, he was like. It starts with, like, the lights are low and it starts him seeing. Start something new. And then, like, the lights come up and they.

[Sequoia]

Troy.

[Ryan]

Right? And then it's him and he's like. He's like. He was like, it was fine. I still had a good time and, like, everyone was fun, but he was like, it was really hard on tour.

[Sequoia]

Because it was really hard. He's probably really young too.

[Dan Kotnik]

Yeah.

[Ryan]

But I always wonder why he didn't just get cast as Troy, the fact that he was a writer.

[Sequoia]

What does Dr. Look like?

[Ryan]

Like Zac Efron.

[Sequoia]

Does he.

[Ryan]

I mean. I mean, effectively.

[Sequoia]

You know what? I think the thing about Juicy. Oh, he does look too. He. Yeah, he's handsome in a way that would have made sense for him to be cast.

[Ryan]

That is what I'm saying. Yeah. Juicy doesn't look. He doesn't look. Look unlike Zac Efron enough to where I'm like. And I couldn't. I was trying to research why, and there wasn't, like, a clear answer to, like, why Zach was picked, especially when Drew wrote the song or wrote. Co wrote one song.

[Sequoia]

He wrote get your head in the. He co wrote get your head in the game, and it's saying, I'm Emmy nominated.

[Ryan]

Yes, that's what I'm saying. So it's just so weird to me that I'm like, I wonder what that backstory is and why he didn't get it.

[Sequoia]

I'm sure. Yeah, I wasn't. You know what? I would have to guess it's because he was too niggardly.

[Ryan]

Zach or Drew?

[Sequoia]

Drew.

[Ryan]

Oh, what do you mean?

[Sequoia]

So Keke Palmer did a podcast recently where she was talking about Drew Seeley, how much she loves him and his voice, and she was like. She was like. He got a little, you know, like a little Jesse McCartney esque. A little.

[Ryan]

Okay. A beautiful soul, you know, I hear you, and I receive this. I'm also saying, are we letting Keke Palmer be the arbiter of, like, someone having a little bit too much swag? You know what I mean? And I do love Keke Palmer, but I'm like, I could also see her fully dating a white boy with no clue. Qualms.

[Sequoia]

Not in a bad way.

[Ryan]

It's not. I mean, no knock, obviously, but, like, she doesn't.

[Sequoia]

Dating Drew.

[Ryan]

That's what I mean. That's what I mean. Someone like, I like, I. I don't think she would be. I don't Think you need enough, Ed? There are certain girls where they would be like. Like, in no world would Drew ever cross their mind.

[Sequoia]

God. She kind of sees it for him in a way that.

[Ryan]

Okay, yeah, I'm saying I think that. And so I say that to say, like, I don't know, that he would be too swaggy or too. You know what I mean, typical to.

[Sequoia]

Be in High School Musical. Yeah. Okay, that's fair. That's fair.

[Ryan]

I don't know, but I could be wrong. He might have had a little bit too much or maybe.

[Sequoia]

Was Jesse McCartney ever in?

[Ryan]

No, but he was. Was he like, A, he was, A, already singing on his own and then B, I'm pretty sure he was doing mtv. He. I think he had his MTV show by the Summerland.

[Sequoia]

He was that what it was called Summerland on the end. The nighttime network for teams. Oh, he was Nickelodeon, and I remember that. Well, that was before. I'm not sure if the end was Nickelodeon at that time. I know at some point they did mesh, but I'm not sure if it was before that.

[Ryan]

I mean, when I say Nickelodeon, I mean, like Paramount, which means it would have been a direct competitor. It was always conglomerate. Yeah.

[Sequoia]

Studio and stuff.

[Ryan]

Be working like, he probably wouldn't have been able to. Well, but then again, Kee Palmer jumped.

[Sequoia]

She did. She did. Well, because she's Kiki Palmer.

[Ryan]

Right. And she was also famous outside of this world.

[Sequoia]

Akilah and the Bee came before all.

[Ryan]

This shit, so that's fair. But, yeah.

[Sequoia]

My rankings of the High School Musical films go as follows. High School Musical 2.

[Ryan]

Crazy, crazy.

[Sequoia]

High School Musical 3. Sure. High School Musical 1.

[Ryan]

Right, that's fair.

[Sequoia]

That's fair.

[Ryan]

Sure. I'll give that. One is by far the worst.

[Sequoia]

Yeah. One is pretty bad.

[Ryan]

It's the I am Sasha Fierce of High School Music. It's the one that everyone is like they think of or like. It has like the, I guess, hits. Exactly. The heavy quotation around that.

[Sequoia]

Yeah.

[Ryan]

But it's like, not good 100%.

[Sequoia]

Because if we're at karaoke and you're like, oh, let's do High School Musical. If you put on Start or something new, I'm going to be annoyed by that.

[Ryan]

Right, right.

[Sequoia]

I want to do every day from High School Musical to Every Day of Our Lives.

[Ryan]

I don't need it. You can stop. I'm going to want to do Fabulous.

[Sequoia]

Or Fabulous to Remember and a. And I would like to do A Night to Remember. That's fun.

[Ryan]

And you know where we haven't gone yet where Kenny motherfucking Ortega.

[Sequoia]

Let's talk about that, man.

[Ryan]

Because his entire foot was in that dish.

[Sequoia]

He was like sugar mama on the Proud Family. I just stick my foot in it.

[Ryan]

That was so gross. Also, that was on the Oprah Show.

[Sequoia]

What an insane. What. What an insane thing for them to show on Disney Channel. And her foot was like. Like steaming. It had. It had hair and, like, cords on it.

[Ryan]

That was actively insane. Wow. They let them really get away with.

[Sequoia]

They did. They let the Proud family get away with a lot. Bobby's whole character was a lot. Okay. Bobby, right? Yeah.

[Ryan]

I'm surprised by how I was going to say. I mean, ethnic, yes, but mad black. Like, I feel like probably is way blacker than I remember. And it feels like in context. That is insane for it to be.

[Sequoia]

That from the theme song onward. Anyways. But that's Kenny Ortega's.

[Ryan]

Yeah, he was.

[Sequoia]

That's what he was doing.

[Ryan]

I mean, particularly at nights. Remember that choreography is so tight.

[Sequoia]

It is good. I do like that they hit that they.

[Ryan]

And they, like. You can tell that they are having fun.

[Sequoia]

They are having a really good time on that one. So good Nights, remember, is really cute.

[Ryan]

I get chills every time I listen to it. It is on my Viking. But I love that song.

[Sequoia]

Prom. They're talking about prom. I know. That's so cute. Did you. You went to multiple proms? I did, yeah.

[Ryan]

I went to. To like, three. Three?

[Sequoia]

You went to three proms?

[Ryan]

I went to one when I was a sophomore, and then I went to my junior senior.

[Sequoia]

I was someone's date sophomore year. Wow. Okay. You just had it like that.

[Ryan]

I told you I was popular. I was like, in our school, the theater kids were. What? What? You want me to show?

[Sequoia]

I need somebody else to tell me that you were popular.

[Ryan]

You already know that Raquel has gone to high school and she has told you multiple times.

[Sequoia]

She did. She did.

[Ryan]

But, yeah. I feel like at our school, theater kids were not lame. Yeah. I think what it was was that we were also the theater kids were also the involved kids. So we all also did. I don't think we know if we had.

[Sequoia]

We had, like, student council.

[Ryan]

Yeah. We were always doing student council. Yeah. So we kind of by default were everywhere. So we kind of were not.

[Sequoia]

I did those other things. I did not do theater, but I'm surprised by that. I wrote for the newspaper. I did a yearbook.

[Ryan]

Right.

[Sequoia]

All that stuff.

[Ryan]

So you were always around.

[Sequoia]

Always around, but never.

[Ryan]

You were also popular. I don't know if we've Ever really talked.

[Sequoia]

My school did not really have that. Not like that. It was like just really big. I told you the school 5000 kids. So like it was like a lot.

[Ryan]

To our school had to be popular. Be 1200 kids.

[Sequoia]

Yeah.

[Ryan]

So yeah, it was easier.

[Sequoia]

It was just like clicks.

[Ryan]

Yeah.

[Sequoia]

Yeah. And like my. It was a really big sports school. So if anybody was popular, it was the football players.

[Ryan]

Makes sense again, because. Very visible.

[Sequoia]

Right? Exactly. Yeah.

[Ryan]

Instant visibility makes sense.

[Sequoia]

So that's my ranking for the High School Musical films. Let us know what your ranking is. Put it in the comments. Comments. I'm curious because I'm actually very curious.

[Ryan]

I'm surprised. I would be. I'm surprised you put two over three.

[Sequoia]

I do think that three is a better made film. Objectively. I deeply prefer to like. If I'm going to turn on a High School Musical movie, I'm always going to turn on two.

[Ryan]

Wow.

[Sequoia]

There's a something. A nostalgic. I also like a seasonal film.

[Ryan]

Sure.

[Sequoia]

So when the summertime comes around, I'm watching High School Musical too.

[Ryan]

Okay.

[Sequoia]

It's a summer film. Distinctly, you know. Exactly. Distinctly summer. I think because I'm out of my high school era and whatever the seasonality around graduation and all that doesn't do anything for me anymore. But like summer does.

[Ryan]

That's fair. Like I feel the movie is High School Musical 2 is not about school. Like they happen to be like theater kids who are leaving school.

[Sequoia]

In fact, it's about having to grow up because now you gotta get a job. Like remember, they're trying to figure out how they about to make some money for the summer.

[Ryan]

Well, not all of them.

[Sequoia]

Correct. The ones that we expect are trying to figure out how they're gonna make and they gotta hit the kitchen and do them dishes.

[Ryan]

Wow. Yeah. I love Sharpe is like iced tea imported from England. Towels imported from Spain.

[Sequoia]

In fact, bring me that towel.

[Ryan]

I would love one. Thank you.

[Sequoia]

Right. I can't believe she was trying to take Gabriella Mann right from under her nose. That was so crazy.

[Ryan]

I kind of loved it.

[Sequoia]

It's all fair in love and war.

[Ryan]

I do think it may be silly.

[Sequoia]

What was your first interaction with High School Musical when it came out? Do you remember?

[Ryan]

I think I was anti because I was a theater kid and I felt like it was like trying to make it cool.

[Sequoia]

Really?

[Ryan]

Yeah. I think I didn't like that. It was like trying to see. That's our thing. My culture is not a costume.

[Sequoia]

You are. So I feel like.

[Ryan]

Don't. Don't take that from me.

[Sequoia]

You are a self serious theater kid.

[Ryan]

I was a thespian. I am a thespian.

[Dan Kotnik]

I'm sorry.

[Sequoia]

I remember the first time I heard the word thespian and like dying.

[Ryan]

Being.

[Sequoia]

Like are you saying lesbian with a lisp? Yeah. I was really confused by the word thespian.

[Ryan]

Wow, okay.

[Sequoia]

Clearly because when I was in drama in sixth grade.

[Ryan]

Oh, they call it drama. Yeah, we, we. Well I guess it's like we call a drama class. But they didn't, they didn't call you thespians or. That's when you learned it.

[Sequoia]

That's where I learned it. And I, I laughed and I'd have.

[Ryan]

Been like get out.

[Sequoia]

They did get the hell out. And I did get the hell out. I got right on. I didn't sign up for that next year.

[Ryan]

I do think I was anti. It was also like I believe this was around the Hannah Montana is era and so I was, I think I was like much more like a Nickelodeon cartoon kid more than I was like Disney. I love Nickelodeon cartoons, but I like.

[Sequoia]

Nickelodeon cartoons as well.

[Ryan]

I came back, yeah, Rugrats is great. Fairly appearance. I didn't like spongebob like this.

[Sequoia]

I'm not. I mean I like spongebob, you know, as much as the next girl. I just didn't love it. Like people seem to. I, I fall all over themselves about spongebob. I'm like what about it?

[Ryan]

I agree. I do feel like there's an undiscussed level of affinity for SpongeBob. It's like Disney adults, but there's like a SpongeBob adult. And I feel like people don't talk about SpongeBob adults and they're worse. I agree.

[Sequoia]

Because why do you have Spongebob pajamas as a 40 year old man?

[Ryan]

Please let it go. Please let it go.

[Sequoia]

It's starting to piss me off.

[Ryan]

Please let.

[Sequoia]

It's getting weird. Your obsession with this sponge from Bikini Bottom.

[Ryan]

Insane. Cuz I feel like spongebob in a lot of ways is like Family Guy for kids. It. It's like, you know what I mean?

[Sequoia]

That's actually, that's absolutely the true.

[Ryan]

Thank God. But neither here nor there. I. If you love it, please go off. I don't want to take your things from you.

[Sequoia]

Right. Please have your things. I'm trying to think the zodiac signs. What was my.

[Ryan]

What your first interaction with high school?

[Sequoia]

I actually, I have no clue. I don't remember my. It was 2006. I was in sixth grade. If it was January 2006, then I was maybe in fifth grade. I don't remember, but. Yeah, I don't. I didn't.

[Ryan]

We didn't deal with it like that.

[Sequoia]

Yeah, I don't think I dealt with it like that. I'm trying to think of the signs. Like, if I had to assign zodiac signs to these characters. Let me look. So Chad. I would call Chad and Aries.

[Ryan]

Wow. My brain was gonna.

[Sequoia]

Is that where you went?

[Ryan]

Okay, say the name, and then we'll go 3, 2, 1. And say it.

[Sequoia]

Okay.

[Ryan]

Because I.

[Sequoia]

Okay. Okay.

[Ryan]

Hold on.

[Sequoia]

Okay, Chad. Okay, we did aries. Taylor. Taylor McKessy.

[Ryan]

Yeah, I have it.

[Sequoia]

I have it, too. Three, two, one. Virgo.

[Ryan]

Oh, same.

[Sequoia]

Close enough. Yeah. Capricorn. I could give you. I could give you that, too, Troy. I feel like I have to think about that for a sec.

[Ryan]

I know.

[Sequoia]

Okay.

[Ryan]

Three, two, one.

[Sequoia]

Leo.

[Ryan]

My brain farted. I was gonna say cancer. That's what I thought. Because he's sensitive. He's a sensi boy.

[Sequoia]

Leo was my sensitive.

[Ryan]

I think there's a Leo in the chart.

[Sequoia]

Okay.

[Ryan]

My brain also thought Leo first. No, it's cancer, because I think he's sensitive, but he's. He's secretly sensitive.

[Sequoia]

You know what? I'm gonna go Pisces, because at the end of the day, he's probably a demon, and he's gonna go off to college, and he is gonna fall into that addictive drinking behavior, and that is when the Piscean really comes out.

[Ryan]

Right.

[Sequoia]

So I believe that I have one.

[Ryan]

For Gabriella as well.

[Sequoia]

Gabriella. Let me think. Let me think on that.

[Ryan]

I distinctly. I don't know why it's coming to me. This is. The spirits are speaking to me today.

[Sequoia]

I see.

[Ryan]

I have it.

[Sequoia]

I see. Okay. I have it. Three, two, one. Cancer. Wow.

[Ryan]

You know how you don't think she had enough fight to be canceled? Scorpion. Wow. Okay.

[Sequoia]

I feel like Gabrielle is. She does not have any Scorpionic.

[Ryan]

Nothing. I think it's a front. I feel like it's a front. I think that we. The camera we saw.

[Sequoia]

I think cancer has a bite to it, too. That's the claw claws, you know, like, they. They have the pictures. Scorpio has the stinger. You can die from that.

[Ryan]

Right.

[Sequoia]

But you know. You know, they'll get a little crabby, you know? Yeah. And she was always trying to run, so she means. She's a. She's avoidant, which could make her a Scorpio or a Cancer. That's water.

[Ryan]

I think we're both definitely in a water.

[Sequoia]

We're definitely in a Water sign for her. Sharpe.

[Ryan]

I know immediately we're gonna say different things, but sure. We're gonna be in the same space.

[Sequoia]

Okay.

[Ryan]

Okay. Three, two, one.

[Sequoia]

She's a Leo.

[Ryan]

Oh, you know what?

[Sequoia]

Ray is a Leo.

[Ryan]

She is a Leo. Yeah, she is a Leo.

[Sequoia]

And Aquarius would never be as Joiny. Aquarius is not doing a fucking theater class. Are you serious? What? A chorus is not doing theater.

[Ryan]

No, you're right, they are. I was saying because she's so.

[Sequoia]

They are loners.

[Ryan]

Eclectic. So weird. You're right. She is.

[Sequoia]

She is.

[Ryan]

She's a Leo.

[Sequoia]

She needs to be seen. She is pink top to bottom.

[Ryan]

Yeah, you're right.

[Sequoia]

The blonde. She's a Leo.

[Ryan]

Well, I guess by default. That would also make Ryan a Leo, but, like. Nah, he's not.

[Sequoia]

He's not. So let's see. Their risings must be different. Which can happen with. So she must be a Leo. Sun Leo rising. And then he would have to be. What's.

[Ryan]

Don't. Because I'm trying to think. I'm trying to think of it. His isn't coming to me so fast because. Yes, I guess they're twins, so he has to be Leo. But.

[Sequoia]

I'm fine.

[Ryan]

Does it take that long? It does.

[Sequoia]

It does.

[Ryan]

Okay. Okay.

[Sequoia]

So the sign before Leo is cancer. So he would either have to be a Cancer or Virgo.

[Ryan]

Oh, okay.

[Sequoia]

He would either have been born, like, right before or right after, and that would have to be cancer or Virgo.

[Ryan]

And I would say he's Virgo.

[Sequoia]

Oh.

[Ryan]

Because he's the. He also was the one in High School Musical 3. He's the one, like, working with Kelsey to write the music.

[Sequoia]

That's so true.

[Ryan]

And I think he is, like, oh, my God, Kelsey.

[Sequoia]

We didn't talk about what she's doing.

[Ryan]

Kind of, like falls away.

[Sequoia]

No, we didn't talk about.

[Ryan]

I know what you meant.

[Sequoia]

Yeah, she falls away.

[Ryan]

Kelsey is. Kelsey moves to another country and we never see her again.

[Sequoia]

Wait, what the heck? Was she in the third one?

[Ryan]

She's in the third one. She is. Kelsey is, like, loosely in the first one. She's the one. Yeah, they're, like, together.

[Sequoia]

Okay, so I'm so confused. Okay, so Kelsey doesn't come to the reunion because she's left the country.

[Ryan]

Kelsey lives, like. She, like, lives somewhere in Thailand. Not a bad way. Yeah, she's like, she.

[Sequoia]

She hasn't led the country.

[Ryan]

She is like, I'm done with this. And she, like, is, like, on a peace retreat in Thailand.

[Sequoia]

Okay.

[Ryan]

She's very.

[Sequoia]

I can see her in, like, a Slavic country or that she's in, like, Turkey.

[Ryan]

I could see that, too. I just. She gives, like, free spirit and, like, I'm over that and, like, moved away and has done something else.

[Sequoia]

Okay.

[Ryan]

You know, I mean, yeah, she's an Aquarius.

[Sequoia]

She could be. I could see that. I can see that for her. Oh, this is a good question. Please, please. Do you think Ashley Tisdale, and therefore Sharpay Evans would be a MAGA supporter?

[Ryan]

Well, I think that goes without saying. I like that. It makes too much sense. That is a weird thing about watching media from early 2000s is that, like, some of your. There are characters I love dearly where I'm like, this person absolutely maga. Like, I'm like. There's no. There's so much about London Tipton unforged maga. Sorry. She's gotta be.

[Sequoia]

Oh, yeah. She has to be.

[Ryan]

I would argue to Zach and Cody, probably also. They fell into the manosphere. They were like little prankster little boys. 100, at least one of them. Like, I think they're in there.

[Sequoia]

Damn.

[Ryan]

Yeah, but 100, I think Sharpe Evans, Montana. Yes and no. She doesn't care about politics. She performs at the inauguration. You know what I mean?

[Sequoia]

I was gonna give her the Dolly Parton route, but. All right.

[Ryan]

Perhaps. I think she's taking that ch.

[Sequoia]

Check. Damn. She probably needs it.

[Ryan]

You know what I mean?

[Sequoia]

She probably does. Probably.

[Ryan]

I feel like she's taking that check.

[Sequoia]

I can get that. Okay, we can end with rapid fire trivia from the first High School Musical film. Okay, you ready much? A lot of this we have talked about already, but let's see if you.

[Ryan]

Also play along at home like before. So when we ask a question, we'll give a moment to pause, comment, like, give your answer. See how many you get right at the end.

[Sequoia]

I want to see. Yes, yes, yes. All right, perfect. What day of the year do Troy and Gabriella meet?

[Ryan]

It's New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. It's like New Year's. I'm gonna. Generally New Year's. I forget if it's the Eve or the day, but ding effect.

[Sequoia]

Oh, good.

[Ryan]

Yes.

[Sequoia]

Effective New Year's Eve. Okay. What is the opening number of the first High School Musical film? What song is it?

[Ryan]

Oh, start of something new.

[Sequoia]

Yeah.

[Ryan]

Something also. Sorry, side point. What a random way to start that movie. I think we could have just jumped direct. Like, they didn't need to meet outside of school. Yeah. Did that add in?

[Sequoia]

No, it didn't.

[Ryan]

Other than a song Like, I feel like I don't think they needed to be meeting at a ski resort. Yeah, What a random addition. But okay, sure.

[Sequoia]

Who set the line? Maybe we're being punked. Maybe we're being filmed right now. Maybe we'll get to meet Ashton.

[Ryan]

Ooh, I don't think. I know. Also, lol, this took place during Punk'd. I'm assuming the only person who would say something like that. It sounds like Sharpay. Because context, she's like, oh, we must be being punked, like they're joking us. So it's sharp.

[Sequoia]

It's Ryan.

[Ryan]

Oh, damn. Okay, close, close, close, close, close, close.

[Sequoia]

Where is the high school set?

[Ryan]

In real life or in the film? Okay, sure.

[Sequoia]

I will give you options. Yes, options. Phoenix, Arizona. Okay. Reno, Nevada. Albuquerque, New Mexico. Anaheim, California.

[Ryan]

Lol. I love that it's in Disneyland. Sorry, Anaheim is more than that. It's c. It's the third one. It's Albuquerque, New Mexico. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it is in Arizona, I believe. I think it actually.

[Sequoia]

I actually don't know where it was shot.

[Ryan]

I'm pretty sure the actual school's in Arizona.

[Sequoia]

I don't. What is Troy's jersey number? I wouldn't know this one worth a damn.

[Ryan]

I would have no clue. Yikes. I'm going to guess seven.

[Sequoia]

No.

[Ryan]

Is it.

[Sequoia]

Is a multiple of seven?

[Ryan]

71.

[Sequoia]

A multiple of seven?

[Ryan]

I don't know what that. Oh, oh. Multiple of 7.

[Sequoia]

20.

[Ryan]

21. 14.

[Sequoia]

Yes.

[Ryan]

Okay. Wow.

[Sequoia]

14. I would have never come up with that.

[Ryan]

I wouldn't have got that. What position did he play?

[Sequoia]

He has to be point guard. I don't know, but he has to be point guard. Yeah. I feel like that's the only person that they follow about.

[Ryan]

Right.

[Sequoia]

What is the character? Zeke's secret passion?

[Ryan]

He's a baker.

[Sequoia]

He makes. Secretly, I thought he was a chef. I forgot that he bakes.

[Ryan]

It was specifically. Yeah, he's a patisserie.

[Sequoia]

And final. And this one's really hard, so it's a bonus. Okay. This can make up for anyone that you may have missed.

[Ryan]

Right? Right.

[Sequoia]

How many hats does Ryan wear throughout the film?

[Ryan]

What?

[Sequoia]

Yep, yep.

[Ryan]

I'm assuming every scene he's in, he's in a new hat. And also, fun fact, Lucas Gabriel's from Missouri. He's from Springfield, Missouri.

[Sequoia]

Really? I didn't know that.

[Ryan]

I think I remember him talking about it in the dcom extras, where he was like, I picked a different hat for each one. How many does he wear? I'm gonna say 13.

[Sequoia]

No.

[Ryan]

Oh.

[Sequoia]

Okay. What is it, Chronicles?

[Ryan]

Tell me.

[Sequoia]

Tell me the answer. No.

[Ryan]

Oh, okay. I wasn't. I wasn't far off.

[Sequoia]

Yeah, no, you weren't super far off.

[Ryan]

Wow. Yeah, that's.

[Sequoia]

That's really it. That's. That's all I got.

[Ryan]

I mean, yeah, I. I'm glad we didn't argue too much about why this film is so much better than Cheetah Girls. And when I say better, I just mean, like, one has a clear, distinct legacy and the other does not. That is my argument. My whole argument is that you can.

[Sequoia]

I won't fall for rage, babe. It's not rage, Nicki Minaj. I won't.

[Ryan]

There is no world where High School Musical is smaller than Cheetah Girls. I'm sorry.

[Sequoia]

I don't give a. About the bigness of it.

[Ryan]

And that's what I'm saying.

[Sequoia]

But better is that I don't give.

[Ryan]

A because how many are Cheetah Girls?

[Sequoia]

Are there how many people or how many movies? Three.

[Ryan]

Exactly. And only two of them count, period.

[Sequoia]

And. And what about it?

[Ryan]

And I'm saying what the other has only two.

[Sequoia]

Heism will count. Goddamn damn near.

[Ryan]

That's not true.

[Sequoia]

The first one's so ass that it almost doesn't count.

[Ryan]

Hey, but it's. It's a ship that launched a thousand is sales.

[Sequoia]

It is. We're gonna actually have this debate for bonus content this week. So if you want to hear Ryan fail and be utterly demolished in a matter of moments, go ahead and listen to the bonus content. You gotta pay for it, but listen to it.

[Ryan]

That's true.

[Sequoia]

We'll see.

[Ryan]

I make my case.

[Sequoia]

Yeah. Okay. Well, that's it for this episode. For those of you that want to check us out on YouTube, you can watch us. You can also watch us on Spotify. Now, I know I say that, and then sometimes it doesn't. The video doesn't go up on Spotify, but it should be up, hopefully. So if you're seeing my face. Hello. But you can also watch this on YouTube. Yeah, you can message me at Black people love hermore gmail dot com. You can find us at socials@bpl pod across all the platforms. I deleted our X account officially. So that's out. And that's it. Yeah.

[Ryan]

Yeah, we'll see you next time.

[Sequoia]

Bye.