Created by Tim Federle and streaming on Disney+, Season 2 of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series sees the East High Wildcats prepare to perform Beauty and the Beast as their spring musical. However, rival school North High isn’t going to let them get away with being the only school performing the work of Alan Menken, as they push them into a cutthroat student theater competition.

During a virtual junket for the new season, Collider got the opportunity to chat 1-on-1 with Joshua Bassett (who plays Ricky, a talented young singer/guitarist who’s in love with Nini) about the incredible support the show has received, how much more comfortable they were with their characters in Season 2, the excitement over this season’s musical being Beauty and the Beast, how relatable Ricky’s struggles are, working with Olivia Rodrigo over the phone, the Ricky-Gina (Sofia Wylie) dynamic, and how he finds time to work on his own music.

Collider: You were able to do the first season and put it out in the world with no expectations. People were like, “What is this show with the long title?,” but they had to tune in to discover what you were doing. Going into Season 2, there’s more of an expectation because fans are familiar with the characters and the world that you’ve established. Did you feel any extra pressure, as a result of that, or do you put that pressure on yourself anyway, no matter what?

JOSHUA BASSETT: There’s certainly a level of, once you see what everyone’s responding to, you wonder if people are gonna like it. Ultimately, it’s really just the best feeling in the world to know that there’s a group of people who are stoked and just want more and are fully supportive. You feel like you have this team behind you supporting you, so instead of being like, “Oh, we’ve gotta live up to this expectation,” everybody wants the show to succeed and to be good. It’s a really cool thing. And honestly, being around this cast and feeling so safe with them, it’s hard to worry at all because they’re all so wonderful. Each person really helps make each other better.

You guys were all thrown into this show together and have gotten to know each other as your characters were figuring each other out. How different did it feel to go into Season 2, knowing that much more about each other and about your characters?

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Image via Disney+

BASSETT: Yeah, we all just felt way more comfortable with it. We came back and were like, “Okay, now we know what this is.” Season 1 was a lot of figuring out what we are because there was so much unknown, new stuff. But once we figured it all out, coming back for Season 2 was just a breeze. I love saying that Season 1 walked, so that Season 2 could run because I think that’s true. We all found our groove and it’s a really beautiful thing.

What was your reaction to learning that you would be tackling Beauty and the Beast this season? How familiar were you with the story and the music?

BASSETT: I was in Beauty and the Beast when I was 11 or 12. I played Chip. So, I was super familiar with the music and the show. And so, when I heard about it, I was like, “Oh, my gosh, that’s perfect.” And then, (showrunner) Tim [Federle] filled us in on all of the crazy, insane things that will happen in the season, and we were all like, “Yes, this is brilliant.” I think they really did a good job with it and it’s perfect. I couldn’t imagine a different show than Beauty and the Beast.

Is it intimidating or nerve-wracking to perform songs from such an iconic musical as Beauty and the Beast, or to do the new original songs that you get to do on the show?

BASSETT: Doing the new original songs is generally more exciting because it’s a brand new thing and you get to decide what it is. That’s a pretty neat experience to be a part of. With Beauty and the Beast, it’s fun because you’re re-imagining the old songs, so it’s like you’re doing a cover of it. I would say that’s probably easier because you don’t have to worry about. It’s already set in stone.

This season is being set up for not just one high school musical, but also for a rival high school musical, with The Little Mermaid. What can we expect from that unfolding rivalry and just how cutthroat the whole student theater competition is going to get?

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Image via Disney+

BASSETT: Tim Federle loves to make things authentic, so it’s pretty cutthroat. Drama people are a little dramatic and sometimes theater people have beef. We get our first share of that in this season. There are lots of twists and turns that people definitely aren’t gonna expect. Although I wonder now if they are gonna expect them because they told him that. I will say that the rivalry is very real and it’s very fun to lean into that and just go with it. I think people are gonna love the new characters and guest stars. Also, I think they’re gonna love the people who play the characters. We have a lot of awesome people who just joined the cast, that the world has yet to meet.

How hard are things going to get for your character this season, with his mother not being around and Nini now being gone? What can you say about all of that upheaval in his life?

BASSETT: They sure love putting Ricky through the ringer. It’s thing after thing after thing, but ultimately it just builds more character, and it helps them find out who he is and what he wants and what he values in life. That’s a very relatable thing. There’s a lot of struggles that Ricky is going through that I could definitely relate to, in high school. The rug keeps getting swept from underneath him and he just has to figure it out from there. It’s very fun to play that, especially because I don’t even know how my character ends up. I do now, but when I’m acting it, they don’t tell me ahead of time, so I’m figuring it out as much as the audience is.

On a personal level, after spending a season working with her, is it hard not to have Olivia Rodrigo around to be in scenes with, where you’re not just talking to her over the phone?

BASSETT: Even in Season 1, we didn’t have a large amount of scenes together. Most of our scenes in Season 1 were just fighting and arguing the whole time, which is so funny. It’s a little bit different. With the phone calls, I would literally call in from home. I was sitting at home and the assistant director would text me and say, “Okay, call in.” I would call the phone, Olivia would pick up, we’d have the conversation for the scene, and then she’d hang up the phone because her character had to hang it up in the scene. It was cool how that worked out and I was able to call in from home. It’s really cool how they did it all. I can’t wait for people to watch the journey of Ricky and Nini.

We also see some things happening between Ricky and Gina (Sofia Wylie), this season. What can you say about their dynamic and Season 2?

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Image via Disney+

BASSETT: Ricky and Gina is the big question mark. Everyone wants to know what’s what’s going on and it’s all a gray area, as are all relationships, especially high school. Everyone is figuring out who they are and stuff happens. You never really know people, you misread things, people internalize things and project things, and there are just different misunderstandings. The Ricky and Gina dynamic is a really good reflection of that dynamic in high school. But in terms of details, you’re not gettin’ nothing out of me.

I love the friendship between Ricky and Big Red. There are some fun and sweet moments between you, this season. What do you enjoy about that dynamic?

BASSETT: Larry Saperstein is the best. I just remember how quickly we fell into the sync when we started working together, or at least when we both got to Salt Lake City. He’s just my guy. He’s somebody I can always throw stuff to and we always come up with the funniest things on set. He’s a goof and we play off of each other really well. He’s a really awesome scene partner to have. Tim knows that and he plays into that a lot when he’s writing.

You’ve also put out EP and you’re doing virtual live performances. What’s it like to navigate your music with everything going on in the world? Has it felt like a really good outlet for you?

BASSETT: Yeah, it has. I really do write music in the middle of filming. It’s funny, I had a song, “Only a Matter of Time,” come out while we were shooting a scene during Season 2. They were touching up my make-up and I was sitting on my laptop, responding to people on YouTube while it live premiered. Sometimes the worlds really do overlap. Music is always an incredible outlet for me. It’s something that I spend a lot of time doing. You find a balance. I write, a lot of times, when I’m on set or right after I’m on set, and then I’ll go into the studio and record some stuff. I actually find it helpful to have the difference in creative outlets, between acting and then writing for myself, and then writing for the show.

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 2 is available to stream on Disney+, with new episodes on Fridays.