Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies

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Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies
Grease - Rise of the Pink Ladies official logo.jpeg
Genre
Created byAnnabel Oakes
Based on
Starring
Music by
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producers
ProducerGrace Gilroy
Production locations Vancouver, British Columbia
Running time48–59 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network Paramount+
ReleaseApril 6 (2023-04-06) 
June 1, 2023 (2023-06-01)

Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies is an American musical romantic comedy-drama television series that was created by Annabel Oakes for Paramount+. The series is a prequel to the film Grease (1978), based on the stage musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. It aired from April 6, 2023 to June 1, 2023 on Paramount+. The series was canceled later that month and removed from Paramount+. [1]

Contents

Premise

The series takes place in 1954, four years before the events of Grease, and follows four fed-up and misfit students who band together to bring out the moral panic that will change Rydell High forever and become the founding mothers of the first female high school gang, known as the "Pink Ladies".

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Production

Development

The series was given a straight-to-series order by WarnerMedia in October 2019 under the title Grease: Rydell High, set to air on their streaming service HBO Max. [2] In April 2020, Annabel Oakes was hired to write the pilot episode and act as executive producer for the series. [3] In May 2020, the title of the series was changed to Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, and it was announced that the series is set to premiere in 2021. [4]

In October 2020, it was announced that the series would instead premiere on Paramount+ after Chief Content Officer for HBO and HBO Max Casey Bloys decided to not move forward with the series at HBO Max. Along with the change of network, Annabel Oakes was announced to serve as creator of the series. [5] In July 2021, the series was given a ten-episode series order officially by Paramount+. Marty Bowen and Erik Feig joined the series as executive producers. [6] Alethea Jones was announced as a producer in October 2021 and also directs the first episode. [7]

Casting

On January 31, 2022, it was reported that Marisa Davila, Cheyenne Isabel Wells, Ari Notartomaso, Tricia Fukuhara, Shanel Bailey, (as the Pink Ladies) [8] Madison Thompson, Johnathan Nieves, Jason Schmidt, Maxwell Whittington-Cooper, and Jackie Hoffman were cast in starring roles. [9] In February 2022, it was announced Chris McNally, Charlotte Kavanagh, Josette Halpert, Nicholas McDonough, Maximo Weber Salas, and Alexis Sides joined the cast in recurring capacities. [10] [11]

Filming

The series was initially scheduled to be filmed in California after receiving a tax credit to shoot in the state. [12] On January 31, 2022, it was reported that production had begun in Vancouver, British Columbia. [13]

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byTeleplay byOriginal release date
1"We're Gonna Rule the School" Alethea Jones Annabel OakesApril 6, 2023 (2023-04-06)
2"Too Pure to Be Pink"Alethea JonesMackenzie DohrApril 6, 2023 (2023-04-06)
3"So This Is Rydell"Diego VelascoAuriel Rudnick & Kay RichApril 13, 2023 (2023-04-13)
4"If You Can't Be an Athlete, Be an Athletic Supporter"Marie JamoraChristina NievesApril 20, 2023 (2023-04-20)
5"You Can't Just Walk Out of a Drive-In" Jennifer Morrison Robert SudduthApril 27, 2023 (2023-04-27)
6"Sloppy Seconds Ain't My Style"Jamal SimsLaura PollakMay 4, 2023 (2023-05-04)
7"Cruisin' for a Bruisin"Alethea JonesMackenzie Dohr & Raul Martin RomeroMay 11, 2023 (2023-05-11)
8"Or at the High School Dance"Annabel OakesAlison WongMay 18, 2023 (2023-05-18)
9"You're Dropping Out of Rydell"Ruben Garcia Phylicia Pearl Mpasi May 25, 2023 (2023-05-25)
10"Racing for Pinks" Benny Boom Gabe Liedman & Samantha CorderoJune 1, 2023 (2023-06-01)

Music

Around 30 new songs were written for the series by American songwriter Justin Tranter, [14] some co-written with others, with each intending to add a contemporary take on but still capture 1950s-style nostalgia and harmonies. [15] [16] They are the executive music producer for the series. [17] Tranter recognized the music would be remembered as a snapshot of this present time, and purposely crafted the music to be in line with the story and characters. [18]

Release

The premiere of Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies was first earmarked for early 2023 in a story in Entertainment Weekly in December 2022. [19] On January 9, 2023, the series was announced at a Television Critics Association panel to premiere on April 6, 2023. [20] The show's first season concluded on June 1, 2023. The series was removed from Paramount+ in June 2023.

The series was released on digital on July 24, 2023, and was followed by a physical DVD release on November 7, 2023. [21]

Reception

Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 65% approval rating, with an average rating of 6.7/10, based on 34 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Rise of the Pink Ladies isn't quite automatic, systematic, or hydromatic with its catalogue of merely passable songs, but the core cast is plucky enough that nostalgic viewers will want it to tell them more, tell them more." [22] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 59 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [23]

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References

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