The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
STARS ON SCREEN
TELL ME MORE, TELL ME MORE» Forget Sandy and Danny and their “Summer Lovin’” — it’s the Pink Ladies’ time to shine.
A new prequel series to the 1978 musical “Grease” has been in the works for some time (more on that later), but now, Paramount+ has officially greenlit “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” as a 10-episode series.
The show will be set four years before the events depicted in the original film, which starred Olivia Newton-John (“Xanadu,” 1980) and John Travolta (“Pulp Fiction,” 1994), and as the series’ title suggests, it will focus on the rise of the Pink Ladies — Rydell High’s pink jacket-wearing, all-female crew of misfits (by 1950s standards) led by Betty Rizzo, who was played by Stockard Channing (“Practical Magic,” 1998) in the film.
According to the series’ logline, “Before rock ‘n’ roll ruled, before the T-Birds were the coolest in the school, four fed-up, outcast girls dare to have fun on their own terms, sparking a moral panic that will change Rydell High forever.”
Each episode will be an hour long, and, yes, it will be a musical comedy, though it might not include some of your favorite songs from the 1978 film or the 1971 musical that inspired it.
“Rise of the Pink Ladies” was originally titled “Rydell High” back when HBO Max began developing it in 2019. The rights to iconic numbers, such as “Greased Lightning,” had been withheld from HBO Max, which opted not to move forward with the new series after a big executive shakeup. Instead, Paramount+ nabbed the series (not surprising, given that Paramount Television Studios is behind the show), and it’s still hoping it can make a deal for some of those famous tunes, though expect to see all-new musical numbers.
“Rise of the Pink Ladies” is written and executive produced by “Atypical” creator Annabel Oakes (“Transparent”), who will also serve as showrunner. Picturestart and Temple Hill, who are already working with Paramount Pictures on a planned “Grease” prequel film titled “Summer Lovin,” will also serve as the series’ executive producers.
RYAN TO REMAIN» Fans of CW’s “Legends of Tomorrow” are already prepared to see a lot less of Dominic Purcell’s (“Prison Break”) character, Mick Rory, in the coming season. And now, it seems they’ll also have to say goodbye to trench coat-wearing, chainsmoking John Constantine when Season 6 wraps next month.
“As everyone who loves him knows, in the end, John Constantine will walk his path alone,” said actor Matt Ryan, who first played the warlock/occult detective in NBC’s “Constantine” before popping up in an episode of “Arrow” and ultimately joining “Legends of Tomorrow” in its third year. “The time has come for John to part ways with the Legends, and for me to part ways with John.”
It’s not all bad news. While Purcell indicated he’d “come back periodically,” Ryan is actually sticking around — in fact, he’s set to play a new character in Season 7.
Ryan will play the role of Dr. Gwyn Davies, an eccentric scientist from the early 20th century who may be the team’s only hope after they find themselves unable to time travel. “I’m really excited to be creating this new role on the show and having some fun with it — discovering how this new character fits in and causes some trouble for the Legends,” Ryan said.
This wasn’t the only news announced during the show’s virtual Comic-Con at Home panel. Actress Amy Louise Pemberton (“Doomsday,” 2015), who has been the voice of Gideon (the artificial intelligence on the Legends’ time ship) throughout the series’ run, is set to appear on-screen in the seventh season as a flesh-and-blood version of the Waverider’s AI.
And if you’re musically minded, it was revealed that a 21-track “mixtape” of the show’s musical numbers — including the cast performance of “Sweet Baby James” — will be available on “Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, Amazon and more” (per CW) as of Aug. 20.
’MARY hARTMAn’» Canadian actress Emily Hampshire appears to be on the move, from one small town to another.
The “Schitt’s Creek” alumna (she played motel “front desk girl”/ owner, Stevie Budd) is set to star in an updated version of Norman Lear’s 1970s satirical soap opera, “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.” Hampshire will write the script alongside Jacob Tierney (“Letterkenny”), while Lear, who recently turned 99, is attached as an executive producer.
“The kick of kicks as I turn 99 today is learning that TBS is developing ‘Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman’ and will allow us to make a new version of it starring Emily Hampshire,” said Lear, the legendary creator of such TV classics as “All in the Family,” “The Jeffersons” and “One Day at a Time.” “As someone who believes his 99 years on this planet is owed to the amount of laughter he enjoyed through the years, here’s to the next 99. Bless you all!”
It’s worth noting that this one is still in development, but TBS was quick to snap up the project a few months ago when it was being shopped around to potential buyers.
If it gets handed a series order, this new take would (potentially) focus on a small-town woman (Hampshire) who goes through life feeling like a nobody until she suddenly becomes a “verified” somebody on social media, after her nervous breakdown goes viral.
The original series, which aired in syndication from January 1976 until July 1977, starred Louise Lasser (“Take the Money and Run,” 1968) as an Ohio housewife who struggles to cope with the various bizarre incidents happening around her.