TVSquad

Disney is doing everything they can to make sure that their target demo of 9-14 year olds can't breathe without choking on the Russos of Wizards of Waverly Place. Other than that, And with Miley Cyrus talking publicly about life after Hannah Montana, whenever that might be, it's time to look to Wizards of Waverly Place's Selena Gomez. As such, Disney has renewed Wizards for a third season and even greenlit a telefilm for the property.

What they really need to do is stream it on Hulu to ensure it is. The kids are online, you know.

(S34E21) When it came to everything unrelated to jazz hands, my expectations for Zac Efron were pretty low. Then again, there was part of me that kept thinking back to Justin Timberlake's first time hosting; he was just another song-and-dance good guy but the enthusiasm and craziness he brought to his performances blew everyone away. Okay, so Efron didn't do as well as Timberlake, but as the evening progressed, Efron seemed to get a little more comfortable and delivered a not-too-cingeworthy performance. Consider that a massive victory.

Here are some video highlights from the evening.

South Park hasn't been too kind to musicians over their twelve seasons on Comedy Central. You may remember the origins of Bono were less than flattering (seem the U2 singer and Mr. Hanky have something in common). Last season, Britney Spears wound up horribly disfigured. And Richard Stamos (brother of John) never hit that high "F."

When the thirteenth season kicks off Wednesday (March 11, 10 PM), musicians will apparently have their revenge. Kenny takes his girlfriend to a Jonas Brothers concert in an effort to get lucky, but has his plans foiled when the band gives them "purity" rings. Can't wait to see what Matt and Trey have in store for the ubiquitous heart pre-teen heart throbs - I'm hoping it will warm the hearts of any parent you had to take their kids to that 3-D movie.

Yes, it's back. And once again, it's on the Disney Channel.

High School Musical 4 is returning to its cable roots and being broadcast sometime in 2010 in the House of the Mouse. The new installment will star none of the previous cast. Hopefully all the Zac Efron fans won't commit ritualistic mass suicide over this fact.

I've already written of my opinion on this franchise. My only question is will the lack of original cast simply suck in a new generation who have no associations with the original version and from whom Disney executives will feast on their child brains for years to come, or will it suck like Ace Ventura III (admittedly, I haven't seen this direct-to-DVD gem. I'm just assuming).

Honestly, they should get back one or two of the original cast, just to have a sense of continuity between the two "generations" of the films. It worked for Grease II.

Admit it ... you're obsessed with the Jonas Brothers (known in the tween world as the Jo Bros) and Miley Cyrus (known in the tween world as -- Miley Cyrus). You wake up in Hannah Montana pajamas, you eat your cereal with your Miley Cyrus spoon, and you make sure you have safe sex with your Jo Bros' IUD. But, you need more to satisfy your craving for Disneyfied bubblegum rock and pop. Thing is, you fear that you have exhausted all of your resources.

Have some faith, slightly creepy one. Fact of the matter is the Disney Channel is watching your back. Starting at 5:30 pm tonight, the network will be premiering the Jonas Brothers' newest video, as well as Miley's first video from her new Hannah Montana movie. If that weren't enough to sustain you, Disney will be broadcasting the Kids Inaugural: We Are the Future concert, which will feature not only the Jo Bros and Miley, but Demi Lovato and Bow Wow (no longer 'Little').

See? Everything will be okay. Now you can get dressed in your High School Musical pants suit and head out to your job as CEO of a multi-billion dollar company.

[information courtesy of Cynopsis]

So, if you're a High School Musical fan and if you live in New York, New Jersey, or California, you're in luck. To promote the new reality series, High School Musical: Get in the Picture, ABC is hitting beaches on both coasts with free ice cream, games and prizes. The promotional tour will begin this weekend and continue all month leading up to the premiere of the series. The show, hosted by Nick Lachey, will feature talented teens from all over the U.S. as they compete for a chance to be in the next High School Musical.

As if anything to do with High School Musical needed any more promotion...

The schedule for the tour is after the jump. High School Musical: Get in the Picture premieres on Sunday, July 20th from 8-9 p.m. on ABC.

In a recent interview with Newsweek, Vanessa Hudgens talked about High School Musical and Zac Efron's hygiene. (Yep, you read that second item correctly.)

About High School Musical 3, Hudgens, who is currently on location shooting San Francisco, says that she thinks the crew is done after the completion of the trilogy. She also reveals that her character gets accepted to Stanford.

Hudgens also refutes reports that beau Zac Efron doesn't shower. (Has anyone else heard this? Am I just not hip to the goings on of tween dreams like Zac Efron? Maybe I should pick up a Tiger Beat magazine.) She says, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Whoever came up with that is completely idiotic. He showers! He showers! ­Believe me, he does."

So, there's no more High School Musical after this one. Looks like Camp Rock, which stars the Jonas Brothers, will be Disney's new cash cow.

[via Yahoo]

I know you've all been wondering if the Jonas Brothers squash the machine that is Zac Efron. Well, they can ... kind of. Camp Rock averaged 8.9 million viewers on Friday night. That's more viewers than High School Musical, which had 7.8 million for its debut. However, 8.9 million pales in comparison to last summer's 17.2 million (ZOMG!) viewers for High School Musical 2. And it proves that the Efron is unstoppable and more bankable. In fact, High School Musical 2 is the most watched non-sports program on cable.

Joal Ryan of E! Online points out that Camp Rock could still beat High School Musical overall, "The Jonas Brothers are far bigger stars than Efron or any of his costars were in January 2006, when the first HSM premiered." He goes to say that the real test of Camp Rock will be if it has the ability to rule the ratings in the inevitable many, many reruns.

Are you still trying to figure out what to do when all of your favorite programs leave the air for the summer? I was thinking about maybe going outside. I'm told it's nice. ABC has other plans for our eyeballs though. They've signed up Nick Lachey to host a new reality show (I know... boo reality) based on the hit Disney franchise, High School Musical.

At the moment the show is called High School Musical: Summer Session, but apparently that isn't official. Casting calls kick off this weekend, with a premiere set for June 20th. The network is obviously hoping to cash in on some of the success their sibling Disney has seen with the movies. I wouldn't be surprised to see Disney sweetheart Miley Cyrus guesting on the show to bring in her throngs of fans.

A day hasn't gone by where we haven't received some sort of tip or email asking us, the TV Squad, how to get on [insert reality show here]. Unfortunately no, Simon Cowell does not work for us, and Donald Trump isn't my BFF, so we really can't help all that much.

The folks at RealityWanted.com often send us a list of new and existing reality shows that are looking for new, er, talent, and they've given us permission to make mention of them here. We'll try to make this a regular feature as often as we get a new list.

This time we have Styledome, High School Musical: Summer Session and other new shows.

Disney Channel's popular High School Musical series of TV movies will hit theaters for its third installment, but don't expect a Halloween-themed movie as reported earlier. According to TV Guide, the Halloween idea was scrapped and instead the feature film will focus on senior year and the lives of students Sharplay, Troy, Gabriella, Ryan, Chad and Taylor.

The first High School Movie hit the Disney Channel in January of last year and was a gigantic success. The second installment, aptly tilted High School Musical 2, debuted on the channel this month. The TV movies also inspired a professional touring stage production that launched this year. There is no word yet on when the third installment would hit theaters, and none of the actors involved with the TV movie have signed on for the movie just yet.

You thought the big news on Disney this past week was High School Musical 2? Nope. It was actually what happened to Hannah Montana (wow, a mention of High School Musical and Hannah Montana in the same post - my 14 year-old girl demographic fan base just exploded).

While the musical sequel got big numbers and got all the buzz, the episode of Hannah Montana that followed averaged 10.7 million viewers. That's the highest ratings for a regular series in the history of basic cable. Now, are all these people tuning in to see Miley Cyrus or her dad Billy Ray?

Of course, it helped that Zac Efron and company were the lead in, since High School Musical 2 got over 17 million viewers, the single biggest ratings in basic cable history. Lots of history made over at Disney this week.

[via TV Tattle]

1. The Cheetah Girls (Disney)
2. NFL Pre-season game (ESPN)
3. The Closer (TNT)
4. Nextel Cup (TNT)
5. Monk (USA)
6. WWE Monday Night RAW - 10pm (USA)
7. Hannah Montana (Disney)
8. High School Musical (Disney)
9. WWE Monday Night RAW - 9pm (USA)
10. Psych (USA)