It’s all about girl power in Paramount+’s Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies. The highly anticipated 10-episode prequel series from executive producer Annabel Oakes (Atypical, Transparent) aims to give today’s streamers a musical joyride that revolves around the birth of the Pink Ladies at Rydell High in a show that also isn’t afraid to deliver a more sobering view of the time period. In this case 1954, four years before Danny and Sandy (John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John) became the ones that they “want” in the 1978 cinematic super nova that was Grease.

Similar to how Grease ran the 1950s through a 1970s filter, and Grease 2 (bless its ill-fated heart) looked back at the 1960s from a 1980s perspective, Pink Ladies gazes deep — and often waxes philosophical — about life in the mid-’50s but through a 2020s lens. To that end, the show is diverse if not a bit “woke.”
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAYSCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
The result gives us a pre-Rizzo gaggle of gals — Jane, Olivia, Cynthia, and Nancy (Marisa Davila, Cheyenne Isabel Wells, Ari Notartomaso, Tricia Fukuhara) — who join forces amidst their school’s growing conservatism. When Jane (Davilla) decides to run for class president, the ripple effects rattle the students, parents, and teachers, all of whom fight back, wanting to maintain the status quo.

Breaking out into song and dance is still par for the Grease course here. In fact, by episode four, you get the sense that, like Marvel, DC, Game of Thrones, and Yellowstone before her, showrunner Annabel Oakes is creating a Grease Expanded Universe (GEU) of her own. There’s power in pink, folks. Fukuhara and other stars from the show — Madison Thompson, Jason Schmidt, and Shanel Bailey — shared more with MovieWeb.

Tricia Fukuhara as Nancy

Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies takes place before rock ‘n’ roll, before the T-Birds of Grease, and before teen rebels were a part of late 1950s and 1960s culture. But the show is not tame by any means. For starters, the musical numbers are robust, coming off as an amalgam of spunky ’50s romps by way of a Riverdale dream sequence but with more precision. You can thank executive music producer/songwriterJustin Tranter and choreographerdDirector) Jamal Sims for that. And, overall, the characters appear to be more realistic. One of them is Nancy, a soon-to-be Pink Lady played by Tricia Fukuhara.

“What’s special is that we’re shining a light on the people who weren’t represented in the ’50s and even now,” said Fukuhara of her character. “We’re getting to tell these stories about people from marginalized communities whose voices weren’t heard on screen or in life, or even today. I think that’s important.”

Paramount+

While all the Pink Ladies stand out — Wells’ Olivia has shades of Rizzo — Nancy is her own person in the series, wonderfully self-aware and downright brave.

“All of these characters are outcasts. They embrace that, and they’re not looking at that as a weakness. They’re celebrating that amongst each other, and using that as a strength,” shared Fukuhara. “I think that’s important.”

Related: Grease: Is Danny Worthy Of Sandy’s Forgiveness?

Fukuhara also noted that viewers may be surprised at some of the topics addressed throughout the show. “It’s exciting we’re showing themes that weren’t being talked about in the ’50s. That song we do, ‘World Without Boys…’ the fact that Nancy feels empowered by the fact that she doesn’t have a boyfriend, even though that’s what Rydell High wants her to have. I’m excited that we can talk about that and that maybe it will resonate with people who feel like they have to get married, start a family, and have kids and a dog. But maybe they don’t need to do that.”

Other Cast Members Weigh In on Grease

Paramount+

Beyond the Pink Ladies themselves, there are plenty of other characters in Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies. Johnathan Nieves’s Richie has that Danny Zuko vibe. Josette Halpert’s Dot is great for comedic effect. Look for a few surprises in other characters, which would be a shame to give away here, but in Susan, Madison Thompson embodies a 1950s teen who just wants to keep things safe and manageable.

“This was actually my first ever musical theater audition, so that was daunting,” quipped Thompson. “There were so many rounds of music and dancing and chemistry, but I knew this show was something special. Grease is such a beloved project. I love that we’re exploring more of the world, and it’s great that we’re creating content that celebrates young female friendships. As a young woman, and as a little sister, I’m really excited for the world to see this.”

Related: Casting Grease if it Were Made in the Modern Day

Jason Schmidt’s Buddy appears to be ripe for character growth in the show, a bit like Lorenzo Lamas in Grease but with nuance. “Buddy says some things that are really tough to say [in real life], but they kept imploring me to say all that with this big, beautiful heart. That’s just a challenging thing to tackle because how do you create a character who cares, but still hurts people?”

Meanwhile, Shanel Bailey’s Hazel is often found in the periphery, an African American student trying to fit in. “It’s always awesome to look back to know where we’re going,” explained Bailey. ‘We found so many crossover comparisons to the way these characters had to navigate social settings and topics back then. Hazel is trying to find out where she can be and how she can be who she is. That’s something I grew up feeling in school.

“So, these topics are kind of timeless,” she added. “Sometimes it’s helpful to hold a mirror up to ourselves. This is really a great time for a show like this to come out.”

Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies premieres April 6 on Paramount+.