Nostalgia bait comes for all of us in the end.

Miley Cyrus has been teasing a "Hannah Montana" reunion for months now, before one was even in the works. On March 24, the “Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special” premiered on Disney+ as another attempt from the Mouse to capture the nostalgia of Gen Z for capitalistic gain – and it worked.

For just short of an hour, Cyrus donned the trademark blonde bangs, sang some of Hannah’s greatest hits and gushed to Alex Cooper (of “Call Her Daddy” fame) about her on-set crushes, the fashion and what the show means to her two decades on. It was short and sweet, with minimal allusion to the more complicated parts of Cyrus’ legacy as a Disney starlet.

I loved it, but I understand why – it was geared toward me. Hannah Montana – or more specifically, Cyrus – was the first celebrity I remember connecting with.

Nostalgia is hitting generations hard right now

Nostalgia is nothing new. Gen X felt it watching "Stranger Things." Millennials got the Backstreet Boys reunion. It’s only right that Gen Z gets our turn in the never-ending culture cycles. We got “Freakier Friday” in 2025, complete with Lindsay Lohan. We’re bringing back analog. We were head over heels for 2016 earlier this year.

Nowadays, nostalgia is mostly saved for selling a product. It’s a played-out means of getting money at this point, but it works.

And while I roll my eyes at nostalgia bait most of the time, the "Hannah Montana" special got me.

Hannah Montana raised my generation

I was 8 years old when "Hannah Montana" started in 2006, on the older end of the perfect age for the show. The premise – that a teenager could have a secret double life – hooked me before the first episode even aired. I watched the first season religiously, following her navigating stardom in secret while antics ensued in every episode.

Yet the allure wasn’t just Hannah – it was Cyrus herself. Miley Stewart, the character she played in the show, was funny and fierce. Sure, Hannah was the actual celebrity, but I wanted to be Miley. She was a few years older than me and seemed to be everything I wasn’t. She was cool; boys liked her. She had a voice.

Cyrus’ 2007 album, a double CD that featured Hannah Montana songs on one disc and Miley Cyrus songs on another, played constantly in my childhood bedroom. At one point, I was a member of Cyrus’ fan club. I went to the Best of Both Worlds tour in Greensboro, North Carolina.

I’m not the only one who was inspired by Hannah. Celebrities like Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo were shaped by the show. CNN recently explored what Hannah Montana meant to children with marginalized identities.

Cyrus is inextricable from Hannah, a point she stressed multiple times in the documentary. We’re not just nostalgic for our own childhoods – we’re nostalgic for hers, too. Cyrus was just 13 when the show started, and it showed off-screen.

The 'Hannah Montana' doc left me with some questions

The documentary is not a barn burner, nor is it a one-for-one remake of the show. Cyrus sings three songs total, including a new track. Cooper, a friendly interviewer, gets a few good answers out of Cyrus, but shies away from talking about the “Bangerz” era or the controversies surrounding the singer toward the end of her Disney days.

I would have loved to explore how Cyrus dealt with the pressures of fame so young, as well as the ubiquitousness of her as Hannah Montana. She famously said Hannah was murdered in a “Saturday Night Live” monologue – how did she learn to live with that part of herself? These questions mostly go unanswered in the documentary.

Yet for what it is – unabashed nostalgia bait – it works, and it got me. Maybe you can’t have the best of both worlds, but you can get pretty close.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on Bluesky: @sarapequeno.bsky.social

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