Joshua Bassett and Sofia Wylie Give Their Final Curtain Call On ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’

This interview was conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Walking through the wings of red velvet curtains and into the burning spotlight that hits centerstage, Joshua Bassett and Sofia Wylie grasp each other’s hands to an uproar of applause. Sandwiched between their family of misfits and theater kids, the pair bows and officially marks the end of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Now in its final season, HSMTMTS‘ tenaciously devoted fanbase has kept the momentum going for the series as they embarked on several ship wars thanks to love triangles (and squares! 🥴) between the show’s core four: Ricky, Gina, EJ, and Nini.

Perhaps the most dedicated shippers of all belong to Rina and their infamous slow burn, which had been hiding in plain sight since the show’s first season. In season 4, we’ve *finally* been fed the rom-com content we craved from these two— most notably, a duet of HSM3‘s “Can I Have This Dance?” and a cinematic kiss in the rain worthy of its own TikTok trend. No, seriously, the parallels between Rina and HSM‘s Troyella are uncanny, so it’s no wonder they are endgame!

Joshua and Sofia sat down with Cosmopolitan to dish on all things Rina (yes, including the chocolates). They also opened up about their friendship off-screen and what they’re looking forward to as they bid farewell to HSMTMTS with a final curtain call.

What was it like working together over the course of the series and exploring such a complex relationship arc between Ricky and Gina?

Sofia Wylie: It’s crazy looking back at these past four seasons. With the last season coming out, I’ve been feeling very nostalgic, and so I’ve been thinking about these past four years and looking through my camera roll and seeing how we were all just kids when we started. I was entering my freshman year of high school, and now I’ve graduated. It truly was my entire high school experience and I definitely see I’ve changed a lot as a person, as well as Gina as a character.

I think for Josh and me specifically, our friendship has morphed and changed so much throughout these past four years. I feel like this was probably the closest season for us. There was something different and special where I really got to know Josh on a deeper level and it was wonderful.

I had so much fun filming this season, but also, it’s a hard thing to film a show. A lot of people think of how glamorous it is, but it can be really, really hard, especially when you’re going through your own individual things as human beings and young adults. Having somebody that I felt like was in my corner throughout the season, who I could call when I got home and was living alone, or who I could call when I was on set and having a rough time—that person was many of the cast, but Josh was definitely one of those people for me.

Joshua Bassett: Aw, shucks. Well, ditto to that. I always say that it’s never work when I’m working with Sofia ’cause we just mess around and every now and again, they start rolling and we’re like, “Oh, are they filming still?” And like, we make up a good chunk of our lines. It’s really been a magical season.

One of us was in the other person’s trailer at any given time going through something, and we were always able to help each other out. We lived a block and a half away from each other, so anytime one of us was under the weather or having a tough day, we’d drop off a care package, which was really beautiful and wholesome. I also have to include Saylor Curda, who plays Maddox, in that.

The Wildcats are graduating in the fourth and final season of HSMTMTS. What has it been like to gear up for the end and, in a way, graduate from such a special project?

JB: Obviously I was a little bit older than Sofia when we started, but I never went to high school. So this is the closest experience I’ve had. I think I cried on camera more this season than any other season combined. It’s crazy to have that theater kid family bond that we all have that will never go away. It’s a really sad and beautiful thing, but mostly sad.

SW: It was a very emotional season. I think we all really knew that this was going to be the last season. Everything was kind of tying up at the end and it was so bittersweet because it felt right, it felt very final.

I definitely would love for the show to last forever, but I know that as our characters need to grow up, so do we. It’s hard to say goodbye and sometimes I don’t necessarily like change, so it’s hard for me to kind of adjust my perspective to see how change can be good. I truly think this will be such a wonderful way for all of us to move forward, but also look back at this experience with so much happiness and fulfillment in our hearts.

Is there anything you took away from working with most of the OG High School Musical cast members on season 4?

SW: I think humility is the biggest thing. I remember a specific day when a lot of the OG cast came in for the first time. The most common thing that they said to me and to the rest of the cast was, “We are so excited to be here. We feel so privileged to be here.” And I was like, why are they saying that? Do they not understand that we are the ones who are honored and privileged that they are here? This is their legacy that we’re able to move forward with.

The fact that they came in with such humility just felt like, “Wow.” No matter where you are, no matter how much you’ve done, you can always walk into a space with love and humility and no matter where I am in my life, I want to do that as well because it truly made me, a young girl who looked up to them, feel very equal and respected. Which is very rare, I think, in not only this industry but in this world.

JB: Another big thing is the way that they all have still pretty solid relationships with each other. They might not be best friends every day getting brunch, but just the way they all cared for each other and they had stayed in touch for so long. I thought it was really cool that they didn’t just all go their separate ways and pretend like the other person didn’t exist. This beautiful family that we’ve had over the last four years, it’s something I wanna carry with me for the rest of my life, and I hope we can keep having “high school reunions.”

What is the craziest HSMTMTS fan theory that you’ve seen?

JB: I don’t pay attention to a lot of the fan theories, that’s why I’m blanking.

SW: Whenever the show will start to come out, I’ll see what people are saying about the episodes. Especially since our past three seasons came out weekly, it was always like a big burst of excitement every night that an episode would air.

I remember Saylor had found a fanfic. It was a whole thread, and she was showing me it, and it was so elaborate. It was all of our characters in an alternate world where the relationships and the setting are different and it was so interesting. It was literally like a book to read through. I was like, “Wow, someone needs to hire these people. Like they’ve got talent, for real.”

JB: Well, side note, I asked ChatGPT to write a scene from our show and it was so accurate. I was like, “This is scary.” Like Nini, played by Olivia Rodrigo, storms off stage and says to Ricky, “You’re ruining my dream!” And Ricky’s like, “This is my dream.” It’s crazy.

Speaking of fan theories, how long did you both know about the Ricky/Gina slow burn? Did you know they’d explore their romantic relationship after shooting previous seasons?

JB: Tim Federle, the HSMTMTS showrunner, probably knew, but we don’t get to know a lot. So I think you can assume, it was pretty obvious where things were headed, you know? I’m really content with how everything turned out. It’s a neat arc is all I’ll say.

SW: I agree. I didn’t think that Rina was gonna happen necessarily in the first season. Of course, it was underlying but I thought it was more of a plot thing, like, “Oh, Gina’s trying to get in between Ricky and Nini.” Then in season 2, I barely had any scenes with Josh—I mostly had scenes with the rest of the cast. Season 3, that was definitely when I was like, “Oh, I see where they’re going with this.”

So it’s definitely been, like Josh said, something that we’ve discovered throughout each season or through new episodes because as actors, we don’t really know too much until we start to film it or until we get the script. It’s been interesting to learn it as we go. I feel like that’s the perfect way to go about this because I think we would’ve played things very differently if we had known exactly how it was gonna end from the start.

JB: Well in season 3—I don’t know if we’ve talked about this publicly—we didn’t get the script for the last scene until the day we shot it. I think Tim texted us the sides late the night before, ’cause Sofia had a huge monologue and she had to memorize it off the cuff. Not only did they not give us the sides until the night before, they only gave us the sides. They didn’t give it to the crew, they didn’t give it to anybody. They kicked out most of the crew except for like a couple of the people filming and doing sound. Everyone else wasn’t allowed in the room—even our cast didn’t fully know the scene—it was just me and Sofia.

There are certain things that they do try and keep secret, and try and keep hidden from us. I thought that was really neat that we didn’t really get to know how it was gonna end until we shot it. We weren’t anticipating it, we weren’t overthinking it. We found out pretty much on the day of. That was a cool sort of thing there.

Did you have an inkling about the infamous chocolates from season 2? Do you remember?

SW: Oh yeah. That is a fan theory that I have seen where people are like, “Ricky actually got Gina the chocolates.” You know, I don’t know who got Gina the chocolates, but as of right now, we still believe it to be Gina’s mom. So that’s all that is canon for now.

JB: I plead the fifth.

Now that HSMTMTS has come to an end, what are you most looking forward to?

JB: I’m excited for all that is to come. It’s crazy how this show has changed my entire life. We’re so fortunate. It’s so rare to get a show that, first of all, has a pilot, let alone films a season, let alone airs, let alone gets renewed, let alone gets four seasons. It’s the first show ever, I think, on Disney+ to get four seasons, it’s pretty nuts. I need to really soak in this last season. Yes, it’s been challenging, but I mean, it’s just been a beautiful wild ride.

With all the opportunities that have come from this, I think everyone’s lives have been permanently changed. So, what comes next? Who’s to say? I couldn’t be more grateful for this experience and for this family. And again, to be able to share it with so many people and grow up alongside the audience. It’s been the ride of a lifetime.

SW: It truly is so insane to now be 19 and see these past years of my life for what it is. It’s truly a miracle, filming a show or getting to be on a show or a show actually occurring. It takes way more steps than anyone realizes, for something to actually be created and then to air and then do well, like, the percentage of success is so low.

I feel so grateful that I’ve been able to experience a show that impacted people and went on for four seasons on a platform that’s never had an original series go that long. Moving forward, I’m just excited to start creating things of my own. That’s something that I’ve really realized in this past year of spending a lot of time at home and resting. Before, I was so overworked that I was just trying my best to survive, but now, I feel like I can go into my next project really giving all that I have and still having more left over because I’ve been really filled up in this season of life. I’m excited to start creating and doing more where I can be involved behind the scenes, ’cause that’s my favorite part.

Watch ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ on Disney+