Paramount Plus’s new sequence “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” serves as a prequel to the hit 1978 movie. The musical follows Jane, Olivia, Cynthia, Nancy, and Hazel as they kind the lady gang the Pink Ladies in 1954. In “Grease,” which is ready in 1958, Sandy (performed by the late Olivia Newton-John) is befriended by the Pink Ladies clique when she turns into a pupil at Rydell, although Betty Rizzo, Frenchy, Jan, and Marty are all totally different ranges of welcoming towards her.
So how does “Rise of the Pink Ladies” hook up with the unique “Grease”? Of course, the brand new Pink Ladies and T-Birds attend the identical highschool the unique characters do, Rydell High. In the film, the college is run by Principal McGee, performed by the late Eve Arden. In “Rise of the Pink Ladies,” she’s Assistant Principal McGee, and she or he’s performed pitch completely by comedic icon Jackie Hoffman. The Frosty Palace is without doubt one of the fundamental hangout spots for the kids in “Grease,” and it additionally seems within the sequence. Nancy’s dad and mom run it, and she or he works there as a waitress. The first episode additionally encompasses a scene on the drive-in movie show that performs a pivotal function in “Grease.”
But maybe the most important connection to the film comes within the type of Jane Facciano, the present’s fundamental character. Jane’s household not too long ago moved to California from New York, and she or he’s had a tough time becoming in; similar along with her sister, a preteen in center college. In the early episodes, Jane’s mom complains that she has a brand new nickname from her pal Betty — “Frenchy.” Jane’s little sister is the primary film’s Frenchy, and Betty, who gave her that nickname, is Rizzo. Preteen Rizzo briefly seems in a scene with Frenchy.
Still, regardless of these similarities, “Rise of the Pink Ladies” is ready to set up itself as its personal factor. The forged is extra numerous, and the present usually serves as a bubbly critique of the tradition of sexism and masculine bravado that permeates the unique movie.
Fans must wait and see if the present makes much more connections. And for these questioning: thus far, the present does not appear to have any main connections to “Grease 2,” the cult basic sequel to the unique movie, moreover the return to Rydell.
New episodes of “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” stream Thursdays on Paramount+.
Image Source: Paramount Plus