Paramount Plus has ordered Paramount Television Studios’ “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” to series, Variety has confirmed.
The “Grease” prequel takes place four years before Sandy and Danny’s relationship throws Rydell High into a tailspin. Before rock ‘n’ roll ruled and before the T-Birds were the coolest guys in school, four fed-up, outcast girls dare to have fun on their own terms and spark a moral panic that will change Rydell High forever. The hour-long musical comedy will highlight the rise of the original four Pink Ladies— Rizzo, Jan, Marty and Frenchy— long before they had to whip into shape the clean-cut new girl from Australia.
The 10-episode series is written and executive produced by creator and “Atypical” and “Transparent” alum Annabel Oakes. Marty Bowen and Erik Feig will also executive produce for Temple Hill and Picturestart, respectively. Both are also working with Paramount Pictures on the “Grease” prequel movie “Summer Lovin.”
Last October, Variety exclusively reported that Paramount Plus bought the show from HBO Max, which had originally titled the series “Rydell High” and was set to be built out as a “‘High School Musical’ kind of experience.” It had been handed a straight-to-series order at the time.
Variety reported the switch came when Casey Bloys decided to not move forward with the project and took over HBO Max content duties when promoted from COO of HBO to HBO Max.
Diving into the early rascal years of Rizzo, Jan, Marty and Frenchy, new songs are to be expected for the Pink Ladies. However, there is still a chance audiences will hear fan-favorites from the original musical. Rights to the songs were withheld from HBO Max, but as of October, Paramount TV Studios was still hoping to make a deal.