Twenty years after the series that launched her first aired, Miley Cyrus slipped back into low-rise skinny jeans, draped herself in a sequined scarf and returned to the role that made her an international pop star — on screen and, even more so, off it.
Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special, which premiered Tuesday on Disney+, brings Cyrus back to her roots. I’ll admit that when she took the stage before an especially lucky millennial audience and performed the theme song, The Best of Both Worlds, I got chills.
6 View gallery
Miley Cyrus, from Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special
(Photo: Disney+)
It’s impossible to remain cynical in the face of someone who filled so many screen hours for an entire generation, singing about the fun of having the best of both worlds — being an ordinary schoolgirl by day and a pop star by night. The series taught us about the price of fame and the importance of friendship and family as an anchor. It’s a shame Cyrus didn’t quite apply that lesson in the special itself.
For 58 minutes, Cyrus makes us — and herself — feel older as she walks through the same set where the show was filmed. In a fast-changing reality packed with events, it’s comforting to see things that remain the same. Every chair, picture and magnet on the refrigerator is still in place.
6 View gallery
From Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special
(Photo: Disney+)
Alex Cooper, host of the hit podcast Call Her Daddy, appears to interview Cyrus in the special and says she grew up watching the series. Cyrus, for her part, shares that she had long wanted to stage such a celebration and takes viewers back to her first audition. Watching that raw footage — which later became a show whose first season was also somewhat rough — feels like flipping through a bat mitzvah album: moving and occasionally embarrassing.
But what’s truly awkward is that the episode focuses almost entirely on Cyrus — and not on the other cast members who were an integral part of the show’s four seasons. Emily Osment (who played Lily) and Mitchel Musso (who played Oliver), Hannah/Miley’s best friends, are absent. Jason Earles (her brother on the show) and Moisés Arias (who played Rico) are also missing from the episode itself, though they did attend the premiere screening.
6 View gallery
Emily Osment and Cyrus, from Hannah Montana
(Photo: Disney+)
Osment said she was absent due to scheduling conflicts with another project, while Musso shared a post marking the 20th anniversary of the show but did not explain his absence. Some fans speculated it could be related to legal issues: in 2023, he was arrested for public intoxication, theft of less than $100, an expired vehicle registration, failure to present a driver’s license and failure to appear. Still, although the original cast was invited to the premiere, it remains unclear whether they were invited to take part in the episode itself.
Those who do appear in the special, instead of the core cast, include Cyrus’ mother — whom she addresses by her first name, Tish, rather than “Mom” (her choice, of course, though it feels unusual) — her father Billy Ray Cyrus, who co-starred with her in the series, Selena Gomez, another former Disney star (Wizards of Waverly Place) with only a loose connection to Hannah Montana, and one of today’s hottest pop stars, Chappell Roan.
6 View gallery
Miley Cyrus and her mother, Tish, from Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special
(Photo: Disney/Ser Baffo)
Roan has been in the headlines over the past week after reports that her bodyguard scolded a young fan who smiled at her. The story gained particular traction because the fan was the daughter of footballer Jorginho. Roan is known for her firm stance on personal boundaries and reluctance to engage when she is not working. In her view, when she is in drag on stage, performing and singing, she is at work. But when she is ordering coffee, walking down the street or sitting with friends, she is not the persona known as “Chappell Roan” — not her real name, as she was born Kayleigh Rose Amstutz. Like the character Cyrus portrayed in the series, Roan maintains a sharp distinction between her stage persona and her private life, which is part of what evokes such strong reactions. It’s a pity she didn’t perform a duet with Cyrus, given her presence in the special.
6 View gallery
Cyrus and Chappell Roan, from Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special
(Photo: Disney+)
Between conversations with guests, Cyrus performs hits from 20 years ago — This Is the Life and The Climb, songs often chosen by Israeli contestants in music reality show auditions. It wouldn’t be accurate to say the performances matched the originals; they were better. In the years since her debut on Disney Channel, Cyrus has become a musical powerhouse with extensive experience on stage and in the studio, and Hannah Montana, too, has aged well.
A significant portion of the special is devoted to name-dropping: Taylor Swift is mentioned as having appeared in Hannah Montana: The Movie early in her career, playing a country singer performing in a barn; Cyrus reflects on Disney’s golden era and her friendships with Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, and reveals — for the first time, she says — that she was in a relationship with Dylan Sprouse, who starred in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. Nick Jonas is also mentioned as a former partner, and she shares that the Jonas Brothers opened for her on tour simply because she wanted to be with her boyfriend.
6 View gallery
Miley Cyrus, from Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special
(Photo: Disney/Ser Baffo)
Ultimately, these are difficult times, and audiences are eager to revisit the past. It’s no coincidence that Gen Z users are posting nostalgic content about 2006. There is demand for more specials like this, and many would welcome similar treatments for The Suite Life of Zack & Cody or Drake & Josh — only, if I may, with less of a showcase and more of a true reunion. Unity, after all, is the point.