HBO Max has today given a series order to a television spinoff of the hit 1978 film Grease - entitled Grease: Rydell High. The news follows FOX's Emmy-winning Grease: Live production in 2016 as well as the news that Paramount Players is currently developing a prequel feature film.
Still set in the 1950s and featuring big musical numbers from the era combined with new original songs, Grease: Rydell High will explore the peer pressure of high school, the horrors of puberty and life in middle America with a modern sensibility.
A search is currently underway for a writer on the project who will decide it it should be a half-hour or hourlong format. Erik Feig is executive producing. Paramount Television, Picturestart and Temple Hill Entertainment will produce.
"Grease is an iconic pop-culture phenomenon that works for every generation, and I'm thrilled that our friends at Paramount were excited about the idea of opening up the show and putting it on a larger canvas for a weekly series," said Sarah Aubrey, Head of Content, HBO Max. "This is high school and life in small-town USA told on the scale of a big rock 'n' roll musical. It's Grease 2.0 but with the same spirit, energy and excitement you immediately think of when you hear any of these iconic songs. You're the One That I Want!"
