Daniella Monet is making the move from Victorious to Hollywood Arts — but what did her costars think of the spinoff?
“[They said] a lot of beautiful things. I was not sure what I would get back, to be honest,” Monet, who plays Trina in both shows, exclusively told Us. “Because this show is just as important to them as it is to me — and it played such a huge role in all of our careers.”
Monet recalled being “really mindful” when revealing the new project, adding, “[It was] not wanting to step on anyone’s toes and come off like I was trying to capitalize on an opportunity that very much felt collectively ours.”
The actress was happily surprised by the reaction.
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“To get their perspective and their blessing was huge. They all had really sweet things to say. I remember Leon [Thomas III] made a comment like, ‘Go get your bag,’” she recalled. “Ari[ana] [Grande] was so supportive. She sent me multiple really long voice notes and she was really sweet and genuine.”
Monet concluded: “It felt like I was really good about where I sat with it all. Talking to Vic[toria] on the phone, that was a big deal because this was her show. Luckily, I think everyone’s in such a great place, and they have so much going for them. They were able to see it as a really cool thing for me.”
Nickelodean’s Victorious, which aired from 2010 to 2013, followed an aspiring singer Tori Vega, a teenager who enrolls at the performing-arts high school Hollywood Arts after unexpectedly taking her older sister Trina’s place in a school showcase.
Hollywood Arts picks up years later as Trina returns to the school — but this time as a teacher on staff. While Monet spoke with the OG cast, she didn’t want the show to get too into the weeds with the absences from her former costars.
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“It wasn’t very difficult initially when we were developing the show. There was much more lore and insight as to where some of the characters were. As we sat with it, we realized that’s not our story to tell,” she noted. “From my perspective as an actor, I would have wanted to have some agency over that narrative and I really respect everyone I worked with and I think that they have incredible ideas.”
She added: “They’ve also had a lot of time and several years to listen to the internet and develop their own stories of where their character would be. I want to know what they think. So for us to take a step back and lean into our fresher show and allow the legacy cast to create that story for themselves was important to me. I feel like we we have a good balance because it is important that the audience feels like they are up to speed in a way, but not so much that like we’re telling too much without them like seeing it for themselves.”
Monet was excited to hear what her former costars think of the continuation.
“We’ve all had time to talk about what this could look like if this were ever to come back. We were all open to it for the most part,” she noted. :So I’m like, ‘This is a world where it is, in a way, coming back. It’s different, but it’s similar. And so I think now it starts to get real for people. I want everyone to feel like they have a stake in it as well and that they can sort of figure out what that looks like for their character. So far it’s just been so fun to be able to share it with them.”
Hollywood Arts is streaming on Netflix.
