“Legally Blonde” will get the prequel treatment.
Prime Video has ordered a new series from “Legally Blonde” star Reese Witherspoon that will follow her character Elle Woods as a high school student in the ’90s, spotlighting the experiences that formed her into the college student fans met in the first “Legally Blonde” movie.
“I had this crazy idea that the world might want to know the origin story of Elle Woods, so here I am to officially tell you the most amazing news ever, which is that we are going back to high school with Elle,” Witherspoon told advertisers during Amazon’s inaugural upfront presentation on Tuesday. “Before she became the most well-known Gemini vegetarian to graduate from Harvard Law School, she was just a regular ’90s high school girl and thanks to Amazon and Hello Sunshine, all you are going to get to know her in this new series.”
Hailing from Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, a part of Candle Media, “Elle” will be showrun by new creator Laura Kittrell (“High School,” “Insecure”), who will also serve as EP alongside Witherspoon, Lauren Neustadter, Lauren Kisilevsky and Marc Platt.
The series, which is produced by Hello Sunshine and Amazon MGM Studios, will launch exclusively on Prime Video. Details on a premiere date and casting have yet to be announced.
The news of the series order for the prequel comes over a month after TheWrap reported that multiple “Legally Blonde” spin-off shows were in the works between Amazon MGM Studios and Hello Sunshine, with “Gossip Girl” developers and producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage set to write one of the series.
“One of the most quotable, iconic and beloved characters that is ingrained in the fabric of Hollywood history has to be Elle Woods, and we are honored to bring her origin story to our global Prime Video customers,” Amazon MGM Studios head of TV Vernon Sanders said. “Reese and Hello Sunshine’s vision for this series, coupled with Laura Kittrell’s winning voice, made this show completely undeniable.”
“I truly couldn’t be more excited about this series! Fans will get to know how Elle Woods navigated her world as a teenager with her distinct personality and ingenuity, in ways that only our beloved Elle could do,” Witherspoon added. “What could be better than that?! I’m extremely grateful to the incredible teams at Prime Video and Hello Sunshine — along with our amazing writer Laura Kittrell — for making this dream of mine come true. ‘Legally Blonde’ is back!”
Hello Sunshine is represented by CAA and Hansen Jacobson. Laura Kittrell is represented by UTA and Mosaic.
