Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/Disney
Olivia Rodrigo officially graduated from High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and we’re sour about it.
The star, who played female lead Nini on the show opposite Joshua Bassett’s Ricky, had already been a diminished presence on Disney+’s High School Musical spinoff before the final season kicked off this week without her. In Season 1, Nini was the main girl, the Gabriella to Ricky’s Troy—literally. They were cast in the school musical (ironic for East High, a production of High School Musical) as the new Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron.
In Season 2 of the mockumentary series, Rodrigo played a lesser role. Though Nini was still a main character, she was sent away to musical boarding school, meaning she spent less time with the other East High Wildcats. That said, Rodrigo wrote an original track (a banger) and was present in every episode, which is far more than what she did in Season 3 and 4.