Grease is getting an official prequel TV series about the Pink Ladies

1 February 2022, 00:20

Rise of the Pink Ladies will be a 10-part series that will be set four years before the 1978 musical.

Dig out your favourite pink jacket, as Grease is the word once again.

Streaming service Paramount+ has confirmed plans for the Rise of the Pink Ladies, a new TV series that will serve as a prequel to Grease, which made international stars of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.

Grease famously starred Olivia as Sandy, a new member of the Pink Ladies, a rebellious girl gang who dated their male counterparts, the T-Birds, of which Danny (Travolta) was their leader.

Read more: 10 secrets about Grease you probably never knew

The Pink Ladies were completed by Rizzo (Stockard Channing), Frenchy (Didi Conn), Jan (Jamie Donnelly), and Marty (Dinah Manoff).

The group also performed some of the film's most famous songs including 'Summer Nights', 'Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee' and 'There Are Worse Things I Can Do'.

Set in 1954, each episode of the new TV series will be an hour long, and will be written by Annabel Oakes, best known for her work on Netflix’s series Atypical, according to Vanity Fair.

However, it seems that the new series will not feature the original Pink Ladies characters, but rather a new group.

The official plot reads: “Before rock ‘n’ roll ruled, before the T-Birds were the coolest in school, four fed-up outcasts dare to have fun on their own terms, sparking a moral panic that will change Rydell High forever.”

The cast will be: Marisa Davila (Atypical) as Jane, Cheyenne Isabel Wells as Olivia, Ari Notartomaso (Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin) as Cynthia, Tricia Fukuhara (Dante Falls) as Nancy, Shanel Bailey (The Equalizer) as Hazel, Madison Thompson (Ozark) as Susan, Johnathan Nieves (Penny Dreadful: City of Angels) as Richie, Jason Schmidt (48 Hours) as Buddy, Maxwell Whittington-Cooper (When They See Us) as Wally and Jackie Hoffman (Garden State) as assistant principal McGee.

Read more: Where are the cast of Grease now?

Oakes will executive produce the series alongside Marty Bowen and Erik Feig, who are also working on a separate Grease prequel film, Summer Lovin’.

Sandy and Danny finally get their movie-ending 'Grease' kiss

This film will be set three-and-half years after the Rise of the Pink Ladies and will follow Danny and Sandy's holiday romance which is seen briefly at the start of Grease.

Read more: When Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta reunited after 24 years to sing ‘You’re The One That I Want’

Meanwhile, this film and TV series will follow HBO Max's further plan to broadcast yet another TV spin-off series set at Rydell High.

That TV musical series, called Grease: Rydell High, will be set in the 1950s but will be a different take on the original film, featuring some of the same characters.