Ashley Tisdale French is making a triumphant return to TV screens. The High School Musical star will be taking the lead role in CBS' upcoming series, You're Only Young Twice. The news was announced by Tisdale French via Instagram on Friday, Feb. 27.
"I told my agent I was retired from acting and he said... umm no you're not," she wrote in the caption of the post. The comedy follows Emily, played by Tisdale French, and Alex, who had a baby and got married in high school. Now, they're 35 and becoming empty nesters as their kid goes off to college. In hopes of starting their life over, Emily and Alex decide to get divorced and dive headfirst into the world of dating, all while navigating co-parenting.
You're Only Young Twice was written by Tommy Johnagin, known for Man with a Plan and That '90s Show. Johnagin and Tisdale French serve as executive producers of the show, along with Mandy Summers, known for That '90s Show and The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh. The project is currently in early development.
The show marks Tisdale French's live-action return to television, following her role as Jenny Kenney in CBS' 2020 sitcom Carol's Second Act starring Patricia Heaton as Dr. Carol Kenney. Fans shared their excitement in the comments of her Instagram post. "That's right honeyyyyy! Proud of you," one person wrote. "She's back baby," another fan said. "Congratulations!! Welcome back from retirement!! We've missed you!!! lol," a third wrote.
The news follows her viral essay for The Cut, published in January, in which she detailed why she left her "toxic" celebrity mom group. In the essay, Tisdale French said that she believed that she'd "found her village" until she realized that she was slowly being excluded from the group.
"Another time, at one of the mom's dinner parties, I realized where I sat with her - which was at the end of the table, far from the rest of the women," Tisdale French wrote. "I was starting to feel frozen out of the group, noticing every way that they seemed to exclude me."
In the essay, the High School Musical alum, 40, did not directly name the members of the group, but fans speculated that its members included stars like Hilary Duff, Mandy Moore, and Meghan Trainor, all of whom French spent time with as a new mom.
