Daniella Monet is ready to bring the Victorious crew back together on her new show, Hollywood Arts. The sequel series sees Monet reprising her role as the overconfident, over-the-top, and overshadowed Trina Vega, who returns to her alma mater to teach a new generation of aspiring performers. While the main focus of Season 1 is on Trina’s career rebrand and her young protégés, there are a handful of familiar faces joining Monet in revisiting Victorious — and the 37-year-old star teases that even more may be coming.In the first 12 episodes of Hollywood Arts, which premiered Oct. 15 on Netflix, Trina’s younger sister, Tori Vega, gets a number of shoutouts, as it’s revealed she became a massive pop star. Trina’s acting career, meanwhile, hasn’t resulted in much more than playing some corpses on cop shows. It’s clear this divergent trajectory between the sisters has caused some friction, but Monet emphasizes the Vega bond isn’t in any real danger.“In her heart, Trina has always had Tori’s back, and I think that’s true the other way around as well,” Monet tells Elite Daily. Victoria Justice, who played Tori, has teased possibly appearing in the new series, and Monet says she wants to “have a conversation with her” about how to bring the character in for future seasons. “I would just love to hear what she thinks could be possible for Tori. There’s a lot of different directions we can take it, and I’m open to anything,” Monet says.NetflixMonet also reached out to other former co-stars to gauge their interest in Hollywood Arts, which is releasing a second batch of episodes at a later date that’s yet to be announced. Ariana Grande, Liz Gillies, Avan Jogia, and Leon Thomas were all on her list. “I was like, ‘Please, whatever you guys have ever dreamt of in terms of your characters being reprised, let’s do it in this universe. The door is open,’” Monet says. “Leon was thinking about Andre being a teacher, or we also love the idea of Leon just being Leon. At this point, everyone’s kind of a big deal, so that’s a direction anyone could go for, too,” she adds. Her dream plot line to develop? “I do selfishly want to see what Jade and Beck’s relationship looks like now.”So far, other Victorious returners include Yvette Nicole Brown as Principal Helen Dubois, Eric Lange as acting teacher Erwin Sikowitz, and Matt Bennett, who appears as puppeteer Robbie Shapiro in a surprising romantic arc. Monet admits it was “strange” for her and her longtime friend to play love interests at first, but she wound up really enjoying this new dynamic between Trina and Robbie.“It wasn’t until I got to experience it in real time that I understood it,” Monet says. “I think any girl would fawn over Matt, because he’s such a lover boy. And now that we both have the perspective of adulthood, I could see Robbie and Matt kind of morph on stage, and I was just like, ‘There’s nothing not to love about him.’ So I just let Trina fall, and it felt easy.”NetflixBelow, Monet reflects on the lasting virality of Trina’s “Chicago” song and shares her manifestations for the show’s future — plus, she reveals her dream reality TV gig.Elite Daily: Karaoke is a huge part of the Victorious and Hollywood Arts world. What’s your go-to karaoke song?Daniella Monet: I have two. “Ironic” by Alanis Morissette. And recently, I was blasting Queen in the car and “Bohemian Rhapsody” came on and I went, “How funny that I never knew this was my karaoke song until tonight.”ED: What song would you like Trina to cover next on Hollywood Arts?DM: I’d say “Ironic” or maybe “You Oughta Know” could be very Trina-coded. I can see those working for her.ED: I’m still holding out hope that Trina will bring back her “Chicago” song at some point.DM: I do think that there’s room for that potentially down the line. We’re not afraid to do our big one. If that happens, we’re going to pull out as many stops as we possibly can.ED: How do you feel about that song still going viral all the time?DM: I am just shook by that! It’s hysterical. I think it popped off because I had the freedom with Trina to be kooky and make weird choices, because that is the character. Had it been a little more grounded, I don’t think it may have had the same appeal.NickelodeonED: What song do you think will be at the top of your Spotify Wrapped this year?DM: I’ve been listening to the songs from Hollywood Arts on repeat because my kids are obsessed. They know every single word. I think it’ll be “Born for This.” That song gives me chills, because I remember watching the cast film it and getting emotional.ED: What movie have you rewatched the most in your life?DM: Probably Clueless. I’d like to make a personal shoutout to Paramount that if there’s any role for moi in the sequel series, I will do anything. I’ll deliver her coffee, whatever you need!ED: What was the last TV show you were obsessed with?DM: Usually I’m the girl who’s only watching dating shows, but I’m actually watching more stuff recently. The Gentlemen Season 2 was very good. It’s so not my style because it’s so gory, but I loved it, and Theo James is amazing. I’ve also been binging Outer Banks. I’m almost through the last season.ED: How did you bond with the Hollywood Arts cast after first meeting them?DM: It really was just constant bonding right away, which was amazing because we’re all so different. Alyssa [Miles] really created a vibe in her room, and we basically lived in that place for almost six months. It was so eclectic with all these vintage, antique-y collectibles and posters. So we’d hang out there all the time either jamming out or playing games.NetflixED: You wear so many over-the-top costumes in this show. What was your most difficult outfit to deal with?DM: The leather skirt and black strappy shoes I wear in the pilot. We didn’t really repeat them after that episode because those shoes were so uncomfortable. Outside of that, Trina’s just going to be Trina with all her costumes, so I just went along for the ride.ED: What are you manifesting for 2027?DM: I want to be on Dancing With the Stars. And obviously I want more Hollywood Arts, but I’m also loving working with Hallmark — I just did a Christmas movie with them that comes out in November. So, I just want next year to be a copy-paste for me, plus Dancing With the Stars!This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Daniella Monet On Whether Victoria Justice Will Be In ‘Hollywood Arts’
