High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is an American mockumentary musical drama television series created by Tim Federle for Disney+, which was first released on November 8, 2019. The first season centers on a group of teenage theater enthusiasts (played by Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett, Matt Cornett, Sofia Wylie and others) who participate in a staging of High School Musical: The Musical as their school production. The series is set at a fictionalized version of East High School (pictured), where the original High School Musical film series was filmed. Several cast members from the film series appear in guest roles. Critics have highlighted the performances of Bassett and Rodrigo, and have compared the series to Glee for its music and themes. There has been a mixed reception to the program's mockumentary format. The series won a GLAAD Media Award and was nominated for five Children's and Family Emmy Awards. The third season premiered in July 2022; a fourth season is in production. Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_School_Musical:_The_Musical:_The_Series> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1863: Confederate forts at Grand Gulf survived a bombardment by Union gunboats, preventing David Dixon Porter's troops from crossing the Mississippi River at that point. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Grand_Gulf> 1903: A rockslide buried part of the Canadian mining town of Frank under 110 million tonnes of rock, killing around 70 people. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Slide> 1975: Vietnam War: North Vietnam concluded its East Sea Campaign by capturing all of the Spratly Islands held by South Vietnam. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Sea_Campaign> 2006: Cyclone Mala made landfall near Thandwe, Myanmar, causing 37 deaths. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Mala> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: pole star: 1. (astronomy) The star visible to the naked eye which was in the past, is now, or will be in the future nearest a celestial pole of a planet. 2. (figuratively) A person, principle, or thing which acts as a guide; a guiding light; also, something which attracts much attention; a centre of attention. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pole_star> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:   The fact is: almost everything is funny. You just have to have a way of looking at it.   --Jerry Seinfeld <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jerry_Seinfeld>