Summary
- Paramount+ series Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies is getting digital and DVD releases after its removal from streaming, providing a glimmer of hope for fans amidst recent cancellations.
- The DVD release of the Grease prequel includes over 30 minutes of special features, while the digital download costs $19.99 for the full ten-episode season.
- The cancellation of Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies, along with other shows, is part of a trend in the industry, with streaming services removing titles due to financial tax incentives and restructuring.
After being unceremoniously removed from Paramount+, Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies sees a glimmer of hope as it is getting digital and DVD releases. The musical rom-com, which was created by Annabel Oakes, takes place four years before the events of the Grease movie. It follows four students at Rydell High School — Jane, Olivia, Nancy, and Cynthia — who become the group’s founding members known as the ‘Pink Ladies.’ Rise of the Pink Ladies was one of several shows cancelled and removed by Paramount+ in recent months, causing an uproar.
Entertainment Weekly has now confirmed that Paramount Home Entertainment will release Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies season 1 on digital and DVD. The digital release was made immediately available on July 24, while the DVD will drop on November 7. It’s reported that the DVD release includes over 30 minutes of special features. The digital download, or VOD, costs $19.99 for the full ten-episode season.
Why Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies Was Cancelled
The removal occurred on June 23, with the Grease prequel being one of three shows impacted by the decision. Ahead of a planned merger with Showtime, Paramount+ announced the cancellation of Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, Star Trek: Prodigy, The Game, and Queen of the Universe. Paramount+ said at the time that it was “refining our content offering to deliver the best streaming experience for subscribers” amid the Showtime merger. It had been reported that the Grease prequel didn’t garner strong viewership, but as with all streaming services, Paramount+ does not share any concrete viewership data.
Annabel Oakes slammed the decision, saying the Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies cast and crew removal devastated the people that worked on the show. The removals were unfortunately part of an industry-wide trend, with services like HBO Max, Disney+, and Hulu all removing titles from their platforms. Financial tax incentives and restructures are often cited as the main reasons for controversial removals, with companies looking to benefit from tax write-offs.
The removal was even more glaring once Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies was nominated for two Emmys. One possible solution is for companies to take a manufactured-on-demand approach, giving cancelled shows and movies DVD and even Blu-ray releases that are available but only transpire once an order is actually placed. This direction would at least ensure that shows don’t solely exist in the temporary digital realm, or worse, that they’re gone forever.
Source: EW