It’s time for your favorite queer & musical-loving Unwritten writer to talk about something that has absolutely made me upset.I started binge-watching a show and fell in complete awe of it after a viral Tiktok that caught my attention. The clip is from the show Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies, a prequel to beloved classic musical Grease. The show premiered on Paramount Plus on April 6th 2023 before being canceled on June 23rd. Shortly after the announcement of the shows cancellation, the show was entirely removed off the platform.
This show introduced four main characters: Jane, Olivia, Cynthia and Nancy as they develop a rival girl-gang which is later known to be the Pink Ladies in an attempt to help challenge the viewpoints of their narrow minded peers.
While being a light-hearted musical filled with catchy tunes, the show also dives deep into serious topics such as gender-equality, sexuality, racism, age appropriate relationships, etc. It’s something that we desperately need in an industry that has for the longest time refused to showcase diversity.
Ari Notarmatous who plays Cynthia on Rise Of The Pink Ladies reflected on their acting journey as a queer & non-binary actor with the Pop Culture podcast: “There just really isn’t as much representation or really just space generally, for intersectional queer folks, people of color who are also trans, or lesbians who are also gender non-conforming. It’s just a very difficult place for queer people or any marginalized person to exist inside of. There has always sort of been an element of pressure to be a sort of digestible minority in just really any entertainment industry.”
After the shows removal, several people involved in the production of ROTPL created an wide-spread hashtag campaign on Tiktok to save the show. They asked viewers of the shows to record testimonies on why the show impacted them as well as sign the online petition currently to save the show.
Many Tiktok users around the world have found creative ways to showcase their love for the canceled series. One user designed custom funko pops of the characters and another user created digital art of the Pink Ladies.
Although there’s been no news of a potential revival, it’s no secret that this show made an impact on many of its viewers. Despite the show only being on Paramount for 2 months, the show received two Emmy nominations.
On July 15th, the cast of Rise Of The Pink Ladies advised they would be putting their focus into the Screen Actors Guild strike which has also garnered media attention. It makes you wonder what the future of the television & movie industry will look like in 5 years. Will we still have to fight for our favorite shows and actors to be showcased in the spotlight they deserve?
Featured video & image via Paramount+ YouTube
