Disney still owns all the footage from the original films, and it's used liberally in the first episode of the series. In the opening scene, new drama teacher Miss Jenn (Kate Reinders) is watching one of the basketball musical numbers to get psyched up for her first day at East High . Later, Ricky (Joshua Bassett) studies footage of Zac Efron's Troy Bolton performances so he can prepare for his own audition. EJ (Matt Cornett) also shows a photo of Vanessa Hudgens to Nini (Olivia Rodrigo) as inspiration for her to go "full V-Hudge" for her audition. Showrunner Tim Federle told Entertainment Weekly that viewers can expect these kinds of " Easter eggs and callbacks and references to the original" in every episode of the series. He said these callbacks would come in the form of everything from old props to an actual cameo from one of the original cast members.