'Rise of the Pink Ladies' Cast on How the Prequel Series Expands the 'Grease' Universe (Exclusive)

BreAnna Bell SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for the series finale of “Snowfall.” When John Singleton set out to tell the story about the effects of the ’80s cocaine business on Los Angeles, he had a clear vision in mind. He wanted something that came full circle and ultimately led into his directorial debut “Boyz ‘N the Hood,” a film that was set in the ’90s and explored the harsh realities of Black families living in South Central L.A. The movie earned the then 24-year-old his first Oscar nomination, making him the youngest and first Black filmmaker to be nominated for best director. Damson Idris was a major part of the story of “Snowfall.” Starring as Franklin Saint, Idris carried out Singleton’s tale and vision down to the show’s final scenes. As Franklin’s story came to an end on Wednesday night, fans finally said goodbye to what was left of its prolific anti-hero after his brutal war with the CIA, his family and the dealers of South Central which rendered him penniless, alone and on the brink of sanity.

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The lead stars of Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies made an appearance at Deadline’s Contenders Television awards-season event to talk about their experiences on the musical.

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Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic “Sweetwater” is a biopic about Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, the Black power forward who broke the color barrier of the NBA in 1950, three years after Jackie Robinson accomplished the same feat in baseball. It’s telling that Robinson remains one of the most celebrated heroes in sports history, while Clifton is still a somewhat obscure figure. (He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014, but still.) There’s a biting irony to that contrast. It relates to how the integration of basketball totally changed the game (the way it was played, the way the fans thought of it), even more than the integration of baseball changed baseball. “Sweetwater,” written and directed by Martin Guigui, is a straight-down-the-middle inspirational sports movie — and, one regrets to say, a kind of benign sketchbook version of the form. Yet it also tells the tale (or, at least, one slice of it) of the Harlem Globetrotters, the fabled team of barnstorming trickster prodigies who Clifton started off as a member of. There were several levels to the Globetrotters’ athletic magic, and the film captures how intricately tied it was to the way that Black players remade the game.

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McKinley Franklin author “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” might not spotlight characters from the original 1978 film like Didi Conn’s Frenchy or Stockard Channing’s Rizzo, but it does set the stage for their impending reign on Rydell High. Though tampering with any reiteration of the cultural cornerstone that is “Grease” has proven unsuccessful in the past, showrunner Annabel Oakes was clearly up for the challenge. So, how does one begin to cast the characters for a prequel television series based on the beloved movie? Casting directors Leigh Ann Smith and Conrad Woolfe of Indigo Casting accredit showrunner Oakes’ clear vision. “[Oakes] had lived in that world with these characters for so long,” Smith tells Variety. Adds Woolfe, “We didn’t necessarily feel pressure [casting these characters] because Oakes had done such an incredible job of expanding the universe in her imagination before we even came to the table to do the casting.”

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Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. For some, one of the best scene in 1978’s “Grease” is when Sandra sleeps over with her new group of girl friends from Rydell High as they sing “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee,” hair rollers in and heartthrob celebrities like Elvis plastered on their teenage girl bedroom walls. Now, the origins of that beloved girl gang, who call themselves the Pink Ladies, are at the center of a new prequel series on Paramount+, released today. Set in 1954, four years before Sandy and Danny’s whirlwind romance, “Grease: The Rise of the Pink Ladies,” explores how four Rydell High outcasts forged a friendship and became the forebears to the Pink Ladies from the original film, such as Rizzo and Frenchy. However, despite the retro time period, the directors chose to present the story through a more progressive 2023 lens, imbuing ideas about sexual orientation and race throughout its 10 episodes.

told The Guardian in an oral history for the movie recently. “It is a non-PC fairytale that is better for the cast not being teens,” the filmmaker went on.

Amber Dowling Even in the streaming wars era, with programmers gambling on new concepts in order to gain and retain subscribers, schedules aren’t brimming with musicals. That’s because TV musicals are hard. And as a general rule, they rarely stick — even when well executed. Sure, for every “Galavant” and “Eli Stone” there’s a “Glee,” a “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” or a “Smash,” which was a delightful disaster for two seasons. But even “Glee” had its own set of pacing and storyline problems after the surprising first season. “Smash” failed to catch fire in the ratings despite its cult following, and “Zoey” barely held on during its two-season (and a movie) run. As for Apple TV+’s “Schmigadoon!,” the proof will be in the (corn) pudding as to whether it can sustain its momentum when Season 2 debuts this month.

When it was announced that HBO was looking to expand the “Game of Thrones” franchise past the original series, people were skeptical. However, after the false start of “The Long Night” pilot that was scrapped, the network hit it big (bigger than people were probably expecting) with “House of the Dragon.” Now, fans (and investors) are anxious to find out what HBO has up its sleeve for the next spinoff.

, an all-new installment in the  franchise that expands the world of Rydell High and its two most formidable school cliques, the Pink Ladies and the T-Birds. In fact, the original musical series focuses on the former as it shows how an unlikely group of girls came together to form a refuge for the female misfits that they were on the verge of becoming and helped them transform into the coolest coeds in school.Simply put: «It's about four outcast girls [who] can’t really find their place at Rydell High, so they come together and they decide to start breaking rules,» Cheyenne Isabel Wells tells ET, before Ari Notartomaso adds, «And join a girl gang.»   The cast, including Wells (Olivia), Notartomaso (Cynthia), Marisa Davila (Jane) and Tricia Fukuhara (Nancy), as well as showrunner Annabel Oakes and music producer Justin Tranter break down what's in store for, from the catchy new song-and-dance numbers to the many connections to the original films.

new ones, the ones that set a new precedent and I’m very privileged because my fans have backed me up on the choices I made.”Swift also took home the Song of the Year Award for “Anti-Hero,” and she looked great accepting both on the live show, wearing a gorgeous (and seriously sparkly) blue crystal-embroidered Alexandre Vauthier Couture hooded jacket, pants and boots. She didn’t perform, leaving that to Pink, who did an energetic opening for the show and then a duet with presenter Kelly Clarkson, who gave her the Icon Award.Other exciting live performances peppered the two-hour show, including host and rock legend Lenny Kravitz ripping up a medley of his best tunes, Keith Urban bringing a soulful feel to his two songs and Pat Benatar proving that 70-year-olds can still rock ‘n roll.

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