The film version of Grease has been a teen staple for some 45 years, but like most older films, it has elements that wouldn’t fly today. Teenage smoking is among the least of its worries. When Paramount+ drops the prequel series Rise of the Pink Ladies, it sounds like it will be more progressive than the original, despite taking place four years prior.
As per The Wrap, creator and showrunner Annabel Oakes talked about her prequel at a panel discussion at the 2023 Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour. She even addressed critiques of the original film, which has been called out in recent years for misogyny, racism, even glorifying rape culture.
“We love Grease. We refer to it as the mothership, and we always go back to it,” Oakes said. “It was made in a time, and it was commenting on another. So, Grease was the ‘70s commenting on the ‘50s. They were telling really subversive, funny songs and stories about the ‘50s from the ‘70s point of view. Now we’re in the 2020s and we get to comment on what they said in the ‘70s and the ‘50s, which is a cool experience.”
Oakes also admitted that some lyrics are “problematic,” which she and her team will address on their forthcoming show. “You’ll see us start to reference … to try to open up the world of Grease and the lens of Grease through taking a deeper look at those and getting other people’s perspectives,” she said.
Will Rise of the Pink Ladies go as far into progressiveness as Amazon’s recent League of Their Own revival, which included a more diverse cast of characters? You can find out when the show bows on April 6.
(Via The Wrap)