High School Musical series films holiday special at Bachelor Mansion

If you’re a High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and Bachelor Nation fan, then you might have noticed something extra special about the HSMTM holiday special.

Disney+’s High School Musical series released its holiday special over the weekend, and astute Bachelor Nation fans may have noticed something extra special about it. Given the coronavirus pandemic and production delays that come along with it, the idea to do a holiday special was very last minute, and what it was in dire need of was a venue–at least for those cast members that were still in California.

During multiple songs of the High School Musical series holiday special, you’ll notice a familiar backdrop, a backdrop known as the Bachelor Mansion! Yes, that’s right, High School Musical collided with Bachelor Nation and gave us everything we could have ever asked for.

It makes sense if you think about it considering the series is a Disney+ original, and Bachelor Nation shows air on ABC which is all under the purview of Disney. It wouldn’t be too difficult to snag this location to film on, especially considering no show is currently filming there anyway.

In an interview with TVLine, showrunner Tim Federle spoke about how they ended up at the Bachelor Mansion, and just how surreal it truly was. Side note: Check out Oliva Rodrigo’s rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “River” and see if you can notice a familiar fountain in the background.

"We shot that in the middle of a heatwave in front of the Bachelor mansion in Malibu. It was the only location in Los Angeles that was available at the height of quarantine. It just makes me laugh that Olivia looks into the fountain, and I’m like, ‘The number of Bachelors I’ve watched walk past that fountain…’ We’re really carrying on the legacy."

As a fan of High School Musical and all Bachelor Nation shows, I was a smitten kitten to see the two worlds collide as they did for the holiday special. There’s nothing like that feeling of your favorite things coming together, and I hope this isn’t the first and last time we see something like this happen.

Maybe, just maybe, the cast will make a musical appearance on one of the Bachelor Nation shows in the future. I’d totally be down for that.

Disney really in this together, aren’t they?

Did you catch the High School Musical series holiday special and notice the Bachelor Mansion in the background? Tell us in the comments below!