High School Musical: The Musical The Series’s third season is about to premiere, but it won’t be exactly like the first two seasons. It is confirmed that Olivia Rodrigo who played Nini Salazar-Roberts in the series will leave the show after it’s third Season. The precise date that Olivia Rodrigo will leave the show has been the subject of conjecture. Rodrigo’s rise to fame was aided by the High School Musical spinoff, with the former Disney child actor serving as one of the show’s leads as of 2019. Since the debut of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Rodrigo has become a pop music sensation. Her debut studio album, Sour, has won numerous awards.
The focus of the first season of the series was the relationship between Ricky Bowen, played by Joshua Bassett, and Nini Salazar-Roberts, played by Rodrigo. However, Nini’s breakup with Ricky and desire to leave East High, the show’s fictional high school, in season 2 raised concerns about Rodrigo’s future on the show. Rodrigo still plays Nini in season 3 of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, but his role is now one of a recurring player rather than a regular
This season will be Olivia Rodrigo’s final appearance in the show. With recent episodes showing Nini moving from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles to begin her music career, her character arc already points to an upcoming leave. Tim Federle, the show’s creator, said that Rodrigo has only a little time left on the show and that HSMTMTS will give him a “decent sendoff.”
Federle said, “I think (Nini is) ready to explore the world outside the halls of East High. And Olivia herself was having such a monumental explosion in the music industry that it felt like the right thing to, frankly, work with Olivia to say, ‘How do we get you out there into the world with us taking a little bit more of a backseat?’ which we were all proud to do to support her. And so this season, it’s about trying to give her character a proper sendoff while also leaving room for other characters to really step into the spotlight.”
It has also been clarified by Tim Federle that Olivia’s role will be smaller in season 3 of tge series. This is congruent with the third season’s plot, which follows the main cast of East High students to summer camp after HSMTMTS season 2 ends while Nini leaves on her own to hone her skills with Gina’s brother, a music producer, in California.