Rise Of The Pink Ladies - What We Know So Far

Nobody knows how to rule a school quite like the Pink Ladies of Rydell High, but when did their reign actually begin? Paramount+ is going to help fans answer that question with the upcoming TV show "Rise of the Pink Ladies." As reported by The Hollywood Reporter this week, "Rise of the Pink Ladies" has been greenlit by Paramount+ after originally being set up at HBO Max back in 2019 under the title "Grease: Rydell High." The 10-episode "Rise of the Pink Ladies" will tell a prequel story set years before the events of the movie musical "Grease." 

Released in 1978, "Grease" is based on the 1971 musical of the same name and stars John Travolta as Danny Zuko and Olivia Newton-John as Sandy Olsson. The movie follows Danny and Sandy's star-crossed high school romance, set against the backdrop of the late 1950s where greasers and cool girls rule the school. "Grease" inspired a sequel, "Grease 2," which starred Michelle Pfeiffer as Stephanie Zinone, the leader of the next generation of Pink Ladies, and Maxwell Caulfield as Michael, the new guy in school who has a crush on Stephanie. 

Plenty of time has passed since "Grease 2" was released, and it still feels like there's more story to tell. Thankfully, that's where "Rise of the Pink Ladies" comes in, so here's what we know so far about the upcoming Paramount+ series, including the release date, cast, and plot. 

With "Rise of the Pink Ladies" officially greenlit at Paramount+, interested viewers won't have to wait much longer to enjoy this "Grease" prequel TV series. Now that the show has found a home, it can get the ball rolling on production, which includes casting, filming, and editing episodes together. Speaking of filming, there's a good chance "Rise of the Pink Ladies" will end up filming in the fall or winter of 2021.

Why? Well, if there's one thing we know about the "Grease" movies, it's that they take place over the course of a school year, which means it would be perfect timing to kick off filming some time in the fall. If "Rise of the Pink Ladies" does end up filming some time in 2021 or even early 2022, then the show could arrive on Paramount+ as soon as late Spring 2022 or even Summer 2022.

No official casting news has emerged in relation to "Rise of the Pink Ladies." One thing is for certain: This is a prime opportunity for a cast of young, rising stars to become part of a very popular franchise. It's easy to imagine that casting for "Rise of the Pink Ladies" will be similar to the upcoming "Powerpuff Girls" live-action series, which cast three known actors with major acting chops but who are also not so high profile that their stardom risks overshadowing the production. At any rate, casting for "Rise of the Pink Ladies" should begin soon (if it hasn't kicked off already), which means we'll likely be hearing more on this front in the coming months.

The four actors chosen to portray the first generation of the Pink Ladies of Rydell High will join an illustrious group of actors who have also portrayed the impossibly cool high school group. In the first "Grease" movie, the Pink Ladies were played by Stockard Channing (Rizzo), Didi Conn (Frenchie), Dinah Manoff (Marty), and Jamie Donnelly (Jan). In "Grease 2," the Pink Ladies were played by Michelle Pfeiffer (Stephanie), Lorna Luft (Paulette), Alison Price (Rhonda), and Maureen Teefy (Sharon).

According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Rise of the Pink Ladies" will be set four years before the events of "Grease." This means audiences will be transported back to Rydell High in 1954. THR quotes the show's logline, too, which reads: "Before rock 'n' roll ruled, before the T-Birds were the coolest in the school, four fed-up, outcast girls dare to have fun on their own terms, sparking a moral panic that will change Rydell High forever."

This synopsis shared by THR may seem pretty thin and basic, but there is plenty of information fans of "Grease" can glean from it. First off, by setting the Paramount+ show four years before the events of the 1978 movie, we now know the four Rydell High girls who create the Pink Ladies will be the first generation of the group. This quartet will become the group who eventually hand over their crown to the Pink Ladies of "Grease:" Rizzo, Frenchie, Marty, and Jan. The title "Rise of the Pink Ladies" also opens the door for showing a possible simultaneous rise of the T-Birds, the tough guy gang led by Danny Zuko in "Grease" with similarly unknown origins.

Stay tuned because we'll be sure to share more news about "Rise of the Pink Ladies" as production on the TV show progresses.