'Grease: Rise Of the Pink Ladies' Trailer Drops

In case you missed it: Grease is coming back in the form of a comedy television series, Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies. Before it arrives on Paramount+ on Friday, 7 April, the first trailer has been released. 

The series is a prequel set four years before the events of the 1978 Grease film, in 1954. So, this show has no Rizzo, Jan, Frenchie, or Marty.

The stars of Rydell High are Marisa Davila as Jane, Cheyenne Isabel Wells as Olivia, Ari Notartomaso as Cynthia, Tricia Fukuhara as Nancy, Shanel Bailey as Hazel, Madison Thompson as Susan, Johnathan Nieves as Richie, Jason Schmidt as Buddy, Maxwell Whittington-Cooper as Wally and Jackie Hoffman as Asst. Principal McGee (via TV Blackbox).

The trailer incorporates the original theme tune from the film, however, songwriter Justin Tranter has written 31 new songs just for Rise Of The Pink Ladies. "I worked on the show for seven months straight and I still listen to the music every day," Davila commented to Entertainment Weekly in December 2022. 

She also told the publication, "There’s absolutely no way you can get tired of them. It’s a no-skip soundtrack. Justin and their team managed to mold together the old ’50s style of music with a modern-day take on it."

Jane, Nancy, Olivia and Cynthia recite in the trailer: "The Pink Lady pledge is to act cool, to look cool and to be cool. Till death do us part, think pink."

Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies creator Annabel Oakes said that her unanswered questions behind the original Grease inspired her motivation behind the series. "I was like, ‘What was up with the Pink Ladies? Were those girl gangs real?’ I started googling and I found out that there were real Pink Ladies at the high school of the original creator of Grease, Jim Jacobs," she told Entertainment Weekly.

Dame Olivia Newton-John passed away, aged 73, in August 2022. 

A global stage and screen icon, Newton-John passed away following a lengthy fight with breast cancer. The English-born, Melbourne-raised Newton-John rose to worldwide fame following a star-making performance as Sandy Olsson in the 1978 movie musical Grease.

The state memorial service for the music and film legend has been revealed. At 4 pm on Sunday, 26 February, Newton-John's life will be honoured at Hamer Hall. The service will also be live-streamed via the Victorian Government's website.

Doors will open an hour before the event begins, with tickets available from next Friday, 10 February, at noon. This is a free event. However, bookings are essential. A limit of two tickets per booking applies. Make your booking through Arts Centre Melbourne.