Ashley Tisdale’s Comeback Comedy

Ashley Tisdale French is returning to network comedy with a major new role.

On Friday, February 27, Deadline reported that the 40-year-old actress will star in and executive produce CBS’ upcoming series You’re Only Young Twice. The project marks her first acting role in six years, signaling a high-profile comeback for the former High School Musical star, who rose to fame alongside Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens.

The multi-camera comedy follows Emily (Tisdale French) and her ex-husband Alex, who married in high school after she became pregnant. Now 35 and newly divorced, the pair face a new chapter as empty nesters when their child leaves for college. The series centers on second chances, adulthood after early responsibility and the awkward realities of coparenting long after the romance fades.

Tisdale French shared the casting news on Instagram the same day, posting a screenshot of the announcement and joking that she once told her agent she had retired from acting — only to be told otherwise.

The role comes weeks after the actress sparked headlines with a personal essay in The Cut and a Substack post about leaving what she described as a “toxic” mom group. While she did not name anyone, online speculation pointed to a circle that reportedly included Meghan Trainor, Mandy Moore and Hilary Duff, though her representative denied that claim.

In the essay, Tisdale French wrote, “I remember being left out of a couple of group hangs, and I knew about them because Instagram made sure it fed me every single photo and Instagram Story.”

Duff addressed the controversy on the February 25 episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, saying she felt “really sad” and taken aback by the portrayal. Earlier this month, Kaley Cuoco also weighed in during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, questioning whether the matter needed to be aired publicly.

For Tisdale French, however, the focus now shifts back to scripted television. With CBS continuing to lean into relationship-driven comedies, You’re Only Young Twice positions her at the center of a story about reinvention — both on screen and, in many ways, off.