Four Netflix shows to watch if you loved ‘Hollywood Arts’
Of all the people Netflix could have put in charge of a classroom at Hollywood Arts, they’ve gone and picked Trina Vega, the woman whose greatest talent was believing she had more talent than everybody around her. Giving her authority over a classroom is a fantastic lapse in judgment, but who are we to complain? We’re here for the drama, baby.
Yes, the performing arts school from Nickelodeon’s hit sitcom Victorious is back on Netflix’s Hollywood Arts, with Daniella Monet returning as Tori Vega’s fame-hungry older sister, whose confidence has always been miles ahead of her talent.
Still chasing her big break, Trina lands a substitute teaching job at her old school without the qualifications for it (obviously), and that leaves her mentoring teenagers who have dreams of becoming the next big thing.
The students have come to Hollywood Arts to make something of themselves, and instead they’ve ended up with Trina Vega as their teacher. Somebody fetch those poor children a refund because this is outrageous, and we’ve enjoyed every second of it. But if you miss it already, here are four shows that will keep you company until you’re prepared for a rerun.
Four Netflix shows to watch if you loved Hollywood Arts:
Victorious (2010–2013)
Long before Trina Vega got anywhere near a teacher’s timetable, Victorious was already turning Hollywood Arts into one massive madhouse. Victoria Justice plays Tori Vega, who gets thrown into the spotlight after filling in for her older sister Trina at a school showcase and absolutely smashing it, which gets her a place among a school full of aspiring performers. Sounds exciting until Jade West takes one look at the new girl and decides Tori’s life could do with a bit more misery. Just the welcome a newbie needs!
And don’t forget, this is where you get to witness Trina’s delusions of grandeur in their original glory, courtesy of Daniella Monet, who returns in Netflix’s Hollywood Arts. The original also features Ariana Grande as the lovable Cat Valentine, while Leon Thomas III plays Tori’s musically gifted friend André. Victorious will always be remembered for its crazy school assignments and performances that appear out of nowhere because, apparently, normal homework was beneath these people. Going back now feels like opening the cupboard where all the new show’s madness took place first. Absolute nostalgia bait, and we mean that as a compliment. You better fall for it.
Rebelde (2022)
Hollywood Arts has plenty of teenagers desperate for the spotlight, but the students at Elite Way School in Rebelde make Trina Vega look almost restrained. The show is set at a prestigious Mexican boarding school that follows aspiring musicians such as Jana Cohen and Esteban Torres as they chase a place in the school’s “Battle of the Bands” and hope it will kick-start their careers. Sounds like a nice little dream, until a secret society called the Lodge decides the newcomers need knocking down a peg or two.
Hollywood Arts might give you diva strops and only so much rehearsal-room drama, but Rebelde is playing a dirtier game, where falling for the wrong person can wreck your shot at the Battle of the Bands before the Lodge has even finished messing with you. And in case that name rings a bell, this is the same Rebelde world that gave us RBD, the real-life pop group that became huge across Latin America. So these students are not walking into some random music academy but a place with a legacy already looming over them.
Julie and the Phantoms (2020)
Only Netflix would look at a teenage band and decide to add three dead musicians from the ’90s. As bizarre as it sounds, Julie and the Phantoms stars Madison Reyes as Julie Molina, a gifted high schooler who has stopped singing after losing her mum, until she finds an old CD in her mother’s studio and accidentally summons the ghosts of Luke, Alex and Reggie. Yes, dead for 25 years and still committed to rehearsals, more than half the living bands out there. But the crazy part is yet to come because when Julie performs with them, everyone else can see the lads too.
High School Musical director Kenny Ortega is behind this supernatural treat, but this one has a softer centre than Hollywood Arts, because Julie is trying to find her voice again while these three ghosts are stuck with lives they never got to finish, and the songs are worth sticking around for too, with the tear-jerking “Unsaid Emily” even receiving a Daytime Emmy.
Lost & Found Music Studios (2015–2017)
Not everyone’s life is as easy as Hollywood Arts, mate, and the kids in Lost & Found Music Studios know that better than most. This Canadian musical drama takes its teenagers into an elite after-school programme where they have to write songs and record tracks while hoping all that work turns into something bigger. Then Mr T, who owns the studio, decides who gets in through auditions and who earns a spot on the annual tour. Just imagine the pressure!
Frank van Keeken created the series as a spin-off from The Next Step, which gives fans a few familiar faces to latch onto, but what makes it work is seeing how much effort goes into making the music. Lost & Found makes you watch these kids earn their place as they deal with rivalry and keep chasing that one chance to be noticed.