HBO Max has ordered a spinoff of the 1978 musical “Grease” called “Grease: Rydell High.”
Rydell High is the name of the high school Danny Zuko (John Travolta) and Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John) attended. The HBO Max series is still set in the 1950s and will feature both characters from the film and introduce new ones.
Here is the logline for the series:
A joyous musical series set in and around the world of Rydell High, the show reimagines the global smash hit movie with some characters you already know, and a whole lot more you will soon meet. It’s still the 1950s, a world that rocks with big musical numbers from the period combined with new original songs as well. It’s the peer pressures of high school, the horrors of puberty, and the rollercoaster of life in middle America with a modern sensibility that will bring it to life for today’s musical lovers.
“‘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,” Sarah Aubrey, head of original content, HBO Max, said. “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!’”
Picturestart and Temple Hill will serve as executive producers and Paramount Television and Picturestart will produce the series.
The three companies are also in development on a feature film prequel to “Grease” titled “Summer Lovin.” “Big Fish” scribe John August is attached to direct the story that will show how Danny and Sandy first got together before the original film. The film is inspired by the “Grease” song “Summer Nights,” in which Danny and Sandy separately tell their friends about the summer fling they shared prior to the events of the musical.
In 2016, Fox aired a live version of “Grease,” which starred Julianne Hough, Aaron Tveit and Vanessa Hudgens.
HBO Max is set to debut next spring. On Oct. 29, WarnerMedia will hold an investor day where it’s expected to announce a price point and specific launch date.