by Isabelle Camoin ’26 on April 16, 2026
A&E - Film & TV
The 20th anniversary of Hannah Montana was a celebrated television event that premiered on Disney+ and Hulu on March 24. My mom had mentioned that the special was going to be aired, as she knows how much I enjoyed watching Hannah Montana growing up. I did not know what to expect from an anniversary special of a show that is no longer being filmed, but I decided I might as well check it out.
The Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special featured an exclusive interview hosted by Alex Cooper, the host of Call Her Daddy podcast. During the special, Miley Cyrus takes credit for the special taking place, claiming it was her idea and not Disney’s. She simply announced on social media that the special was happening, which accumulated so much fan support there was no choice but to put on the show. This really draws our attention to how powerful popularity can be and how publicity can lead to action.
In a way, this method of garnering support is pretty on brand for Hannah Montana itself. The show depicted a once-fictitious audience, featuring staged performances with paid crowd actors who were supporting a fictitious pop star named Hannah Montana. Unlike a Seinfeld episode where Jerry featured clips from his live standup to introduce a fictitious show, Hannah Montana’s performances in the TV show were entirely fictional. This fictitious character now has real fans and real supporters. Eventually, there was a Hannah Montana tour, where Cyrus toured as Hannah Montana, singing the songs written for the show. Cyrus reminisces on these performances during the anniversary sharing, “It was me,” reclaiming her work and merging her private and public identity into one.
As I was watching, I found it peculiar that a fictional character became so real. Where else in life does this phenomenon happen? Cyrus also performed some of her so-called “Hannah” songs in order to depict her journey of reclaiming her now unified identity. She performed “This is the Life,” a Hannah Montana song that was performed during her time as an adolescent. In her attempt to reclaim her identity through performance, Cyrus performed this song in a more mature manner, in an elegant gown, with a single spotlight, less glitter, a slower tempo, and with a much deeper voice, signifying that the artist she once performed as no longer exists.
The special itself depicted Cyrus embracing her alter ego Hannah Montana, sort of like how Taylor Swift re-released albums to sell her versions. In fact, she even took credit for launching the career of Swift by giving her a platform in Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009). Throughout the special, Cyrus took credit for many things related to pop culture, including contemporary culture as it exists today. During her short time on air and reminiscing about their acting together, Selena Gomez remarked, “You created culture babe.”
The interview took place on the set of the show, and the audience was given a tour of Hannah Montana’s closet. This was a staple location during the filming of Hannah Montana; it was the place where the transitions happened. Cyrus would step into the closet and come out as her alter ego, pop star Hannah Montana. Throughout the special, Cyrus met with key people in her life. Each time passing on objects from the closet, signifying that she was letting go of the Hannah identity tied to the Disney show.
As I watched, I kept experiencing this cycle of beginning to feel emotional about the picture Cyrus was painting, but these moments were continually interrupted by advertisements. The special in its entirety was about an hour and a half, though about 30-minutes of it consisted of ads.
Not to mention, despite this overarching theme of identity and reality, Cooper seemed to barely scratch the surface. I thought this special was really going to get somewhere when it came to better understanding Cyrus and her relationship with Disney. To a degree, she reflected on how the show and the network shaped her development, especially by working with her dad on set as her on-screen father. However, Cooper was more concerned with asking about her outfits, her appearance, and her crushes than asking interesting, hard-hitting questions.
Writer’s Opinion: I find it hard to enjoy a sentimental TV special of this sort, and the drama of which Sprouse twin Cyrus was most attracted to at the age of 14, when the United States is currently facilitating the destruction of another country’s civilization.
I am not saying I expected Cyrus to be political by any means, but I expected this special to be a bit more meaningful rather than subliminal. Additionally, I think this special really draws our attention to how some art and pop culture chooses and are so far removed from our general society. I consumed this special without having to bat an eye at any deep retrospection of myself or the world around me. Which got me thinking: we are so worried about iPad kids, but it is our generation that was raised on pop culture and the external influence of curated fiction that is mass-produced and consumed.