ROCKIN’ AND ROLLIN’ AND WHATNOT

‘Grease’ Prequel Series ‘Rise of the Pink Ladies’ Reveals Ensemble Cast

The Paramount+ musical series takes place four years before the movie, with a group of outcasts “sparking a moral panic that will change Rydell High forever.”

Class is back in session at Rydell High, as Paramount+ has revealed the ensemble cast of its Grease prequel series, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies.

Chances are you won’t know many (or, uh, any) of these names, but here we go anyway: Donning those pink satin jackets will be Marisa Davila as Jane, Cheyenne Isabel Wells as Olivia, Ari Notartomaso as Cynthia, Tricia Fukuhara as Nancy, Shanel Bailey as Hazel, and Madison Thompson (best known for her work on Ozark) as Susan. Johnathan Nieves, Jason Schmidt, and Maxwell Whittington-Cooper round out the cast of relative newcomers, and Broadway star and comedian Jackie Hoffman will be taking on the role of Assistant Principal McGee from the original movie.

Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies is set in 1954, four years before Frenchie became a beauty school dropout and Sandy transformed into a leather-loving vixen. According to a press release, the new show is about “four fed-up outcasts [who] dare to have fun on their own terms, sparking a moral panic that will change Rydell High forever.” Sounds very Rizzo-esque.

The musical series has been two years in the making, with Annabel Oakes on board as the writer, executive producer, and showrunner. Previously, Oakes was a writer and producer on Atypical, as well as a producer on Amazon’s Transparent. Alethea Jones, who has directed episodes of Dollface and Evil, is helming the pilot and two other episodes.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper Grease spinoff without elaborate musical numbers, so the series has enlisted Grammy nominee Justin Tranter—who's written hits for the likes of Britney Spears, Dua Lipa, and Lady Gaga—to oversee the show’s original soundtrack. Jamal Sims (13 The Musical, RuPaul’s Drag Race) will be choreographing.

Filming has already begun in Vancouver, and the 10-episode season is slated for release later this year.

Jordan Julian

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