Encore! (TV series)
# Encore! (TV series)

Encore! is an American reality television series hosted and executive produced by Kristen Bell and Will Gluck. Based on a pilot special aired on ABC on December 10, 2017, the series premiered on Disney+ on November 12, 2019. The series was removed from Disney+ on May 26, 2023.

## Premise

Encore! reunites the cast members of high school musicals to recreate their performance years after they originally performed.

## Production

### Development

A television special, also titled Encore! and hosted by Bell, aired on ABC on December 10, 2017. It reunited the cast of a 1997 South Hills High School production of Into the Woods to recreate their original performance.

In April 2019, Disney+ ordered a series based on the special, to be hosted and executive produced by Kristen Bell.

When asked during the COVID-19 pandemic about the future of the series, creator Jason Cohen said, "Obviously, things right now are a little bit funky, with the coronavirus, and things have been thrown into flux a bit. But we are hoping we can do more."

## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released | Originally released |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released | Network |
| Special | Special | Special | December 10, 2017 (2017-12-10) | December 10, 2017 (2017-12-10) | ABC |
| 1 | 12 | 12 | November 12, 2019 (2019-11-12) | January 24, 2020 (2020-01-24) | Disney+ |

### Special (2017)

| No. | Title | Musical | High school | Original release date |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| – | "Special" | Into the Woods | South Hills High School | December 10, 2017 (2017-12-10) |

### Season 1 (2019–20)

| No. | Title | Musical | High school | Original release date |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | "Annie • 1996 • Santee, CA" | Annie | Santana High School | November 12, 2019 (2019-11-12) |
| 2 | "Beauty and the Beast • 2007 • Saginaw, TX" | Beauty and the Beast | Saginaw High School | November 15, 2019 (2019-11-15) |
| 3 | "The Sound of Music • 1992 • Flint, MI" | The Sound of Music | Flint Central High School | November 22, 2019 (2019-11-22) |
| 4 | "Grease • 1990 • Hackensack, NJ" | Grease | Hackensack High School | November 29, 2019 (2019-11-29) |
| 5 | "Annie Get Your Gun • 1998 • Satellite Beach, FL" | Annie Get Your Gun | Satellite High School | December 6, 2019 (2019-12-06) |
| 6 | "Oklahoma • 1991 • Snellville, GA" | Oklahoma! | Brookwood High School | December 13, 2019 (2019-12-13) |
| 7 | "Godspell • 1998 • Houston, TX" | Godspell | Eisenhower High School | December 20, 2019 (2019-12-20) |
| 8 | "Fiddler on the Roof • 2001 • Anaheim, CA" | Fiddler on the Roof | Katella High School | December 27, 2019 (2019-12-27) |
| 9 | "Pippin • 1984 • Louisville, KY" | Pippin | Youth Performing Arts School | January 3, 2020 (2020-01-03) |
| 10 | "High School Musical • 2007 • Fish Creek, WI" | High School Musical | Gibraltar High School | January 10, 2020 (2020-01-10) |
| 11 | "Anything Goes • 1975 • Los Angeles, CA" | Anything Goes | Los Angeles High School | January 17, 2020 (2020-01-17) |
| 12 | "Ragtime • 2008 • Santa Monica, CA" | Ragtime | Pacific Christian High School | January 24, 2020 (2020-01-24) |

* ↑ Since the school has since closed, the production was staged at Swartz Creek Performing Arts Center.

## Release

Encore! debuted on November 12, 2019, on the streaming service Disney+ in 4K HDR. Episodes were released weekly rather than all at once.

### Marketing

A first trailer of the show was released on August 23, 2019, at the Disney+ Panel at D23 Expo 2019.

## Reception

### Critical reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 70% approval rating for the first season with an average rating of 6.50/10, based on 20 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "While it often feels more like a dress rehearsal, Encore! has just enough charm to keep theater lovers in their seats–though everyone else may duck out at intermission". Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 63 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Lorraine Ali of Los Angeles Times praised the concept of Encore! and called it original, found the series humorous across the goofs and the dialogues of the performers, and claimed that the stories and emotions provided by the cast members manage to add depth to the show. Joyce Slaton of Common Sense Media rated the series 4 out of 5 stars, praised the depiction of positives messages, such as perseverance and teamwork, while complimenting the presence of role models, citing their honesty and emotional take with their stories. Gretchen Smail of IGN gave a 6 out of 10 rating, stated that the series provides a feeling of nostalgia through the performers reconnecting with their past, but found that the format of the show does not allow the cast members to come with a story sufficiently developed about themselves.

### Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2020 | Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directing – Reality Programs | Jason Cohen (for "Annie") | Won | |
| 2020 | TCA Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming | Encore! | Nominated | |
