- The Hannahversary special premiered exclusively on Disney Plus on March 24, 2026.
- Miley Cyrus performs Hannah songs live for the first time in over a decade.
- Selena Gomez and Chappell Roan both make surprise appearances in the special.
- New original song Younger You will leave every Hannah Montana fan in tears.
Twenty years is a long time. Long enough for the little girl from Tennessee who put on a blonde wig and became a global pop sensation to grow into one of the most honest, self-possessed artists of her generation. Long enough for the fans who sang along to Best of Both Worlds in their bedrooms to have children of their own. And long enough for a reunion special to land not just as nostalgia but as something that actually means something. The Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special premiered on Disney Plus on March 24, 2026, marking exactly two decades since the original series debut, filmed in front of a live studio audience and featuring an exclusive in-depth interview with Miley Cyrus hosted by Call Her Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper. The result is warm, funny, occasionally tearful, and far better than anniversary specials have any right to be.
The special opens with Cyrus pulling up to a Hollywood lot in a Mustang with a license plate reading HM 20, taking the stage donning her famous blonde banged hairstyle and going full Hannah for the opening performance of Best of Both Worlds. It is an immediately disarming choice. She is not pretending the years haven’t passed. She is celebrating them. The hour-long special features Cyrus performing Hannah Montana tracks she hasn’t played live in more than a decade, celebrity appearances, a rebuilt set identical to the show’s original one, and a healthy dose of late-aughts nostalgia that hits differently when you’re watching it as an adult who remembers exactly where they were the first time they heard The Climb. The interview segments with Alex Cooper find Cyrus at her most candid and relaxed, revealing which Disney Channel boys she had crushes on, confirming she dated Dylan Sprouse, and discussing the strange, particular experience of growing up famous while simultaneously playing a character who was trying not to be.
The guest appearances are perfectly chosen. The special features cameos from Selena Gomez and Chappell Roan, with the Gomez reunion representing a genuinely touching full-circle moment given the well-documented history between the two stars, while Roan’s appearance marks her first in-person meeting with Cyrus entirely. Billy Ray Cyrus joins Miley on a recreation of the Hannah Montana family house set, and their scene together is the emotional core of the entire special, a father and daughter revisiting the roles that shaped both of them in ways neither could have predicted. Showrunner Ashley Edens described the scene as a genuine, emotional moment that encapsulated not only what a TV character and celebrity goes through but an honest and real representation of a parent and child relationship. It earns every feeling it generates.
The absence of Emily Osment, Mitchel Musso, and Jason Earles has been the most discussed element of the special since it aired, and it is a genuine gap that fans have noticed and voiced clearly. Osment addressed her absence on social media, expressing love for the show and its fans while explaining that filming commitments on her CBS sitcom prevented her from participating. The special would have been richer with them. That said, what it does deliver more than compensates. Cyrus closes the special with Younger You, a heartbreaking new song written specifically for the anniversary. Her gravelly voice over soft chords and harp notes sings to her younger self across the years, and it will leave every Hannah Montana fan in tears. It is the kind of song that only someone who has genuinely processed their past could write, and it transforms what could have been a simple celebration into something with real and lasting emotional weight.
The Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special is streaming now on Disney Plus and Hulu. Watch it with the people who watched the original with you. Bring tissues for Younger You. The best of both worlds is officially back!
Director: Ashley Edens
Starring: Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Tish Cyrus, Alex Cooper, Selena Gomez, Chappell Roan, Shanica Knowles, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, Cody Linley, Moisés Arias
Release Date: March 24, 2026
