“Grease: The Rise of the Pink Ladies” — Explained by Frenchy and Rizzo Cameo

Two familiar names (and one very A familiar voice) pops up at the Paramount+ premiere, now streaming Grease: The Rise of the Pink Ladiesadding a cheeky, full-circle element to the musical prequel series.

Set in 1954, The rise of the pink ladies It chronicles the formation of Rydell High’s first girl gang, led by Gene Faciano (played by Marisa Davila). And herein lies the surprise fat Comes the connection: We learn halfway through the first episode that Jane’s younger sister Fran was given the nickname “tacky” by her trouble-making BFF Betty. This name – drumroll please – is French!

That’s right, Jane’s middle school sister is Frenchie, the futuristic pink lady played by the legendary Didi Coon in the 1978 movie version of the musical. And let’s be clear, Madison is introduced to us by actress Elizabeth Lagaris full be in this performance. At times, it even feels like she’s mouthing off dialogue that Kuhn recorded specifically for the show. It’s actually kind of wild.

And it shouldn’t take a detective to figure out that Betty Betty (played by Josette Halpert) is actually Betty Rizzo, portrayed in the movie by Stockard Channing – aka the actress who was incredibly sloppy by the movie’s animated opening sequence. I hope whoever was responsible for the drawing her cartoon image He’s still up in the wee hours of the morning in a cold sweat, forever regretting what they’ve done.

Anyway, Rizzo shows up near the end of the episode for a secret sleepover with Frenchy. Jane becomes a social outcast and feels frustrated with herself, but a chance conversation with the two girls—specifically Frenchie who makes it clear that having a friend like Rizzo is the only way she will be able to survive junior high—eventually inspires Jane to assemble a band of her own.

Submit next, eh Firstly, Pink Ladies’ Generation: There’s Nancy (Tricia Fukuhara), a fashion designer who was dumped by her two ex-girlfriends for having “matured” (aka their boyfriends); Olivia (Cheyenne Isabel Wells), who chooses to tend to the bad girl reputation she developed after a fling with a teacher; and Cynthia (Ari Notartomaso), a T-Bird wannabe who’s tired of being disrespected and undervalued by boys.

Jane has her own reasons for wanting to go pink, but it mainly boils down to her desire for revenge — no, justice — against the jittery jocks and childish cheerleaders at Rydell High, especially her ex-boyfriend Buddy, who lied about how far they’d come in the backseat. to his car while driving.

as you see, Grease: The Rise of the Pink Ladies It is more than just an origin story. It’s more than just a musical. It’s an important reminder that teens were always capable of great evil, decades before cell phones and social media even came into the picture.

Are you sewing your name on a pink sweater as we speak, or are you going to make out like Frenchy in the future and drop out of this show after one episode? Vote in our polls below, then Drop a comment with your full review.