In July, the 2023 Emmy nominations were announced, and they included a variety of shows (Succession, Ted Lasso, Only Murders in the Building), but there is one show that stands out among the rest: Paramount+’s Grease: The Rise of the Pink Ladies.
Nominated for two awards in the Outstanding Choreography For Scripted Programming category, the show is a prequel based on the 1978 film and the stage musical of the same name. It takes place four years before the events of Grease and follows the founding members of the Pink Ladies and their antics.
It premiered on April 6, 2023, and was canceled by June 23, just 3 weeks after its final episode premiered. However, Paramount+ took it a step further and decided to remove the show from the platform entirely. This, of course, now means that fans cannot watch The Rise of the Pink Ladies anywhere (legally, anyway). An Emmy-nominated show cannot be watched. How does that make any sense?
Fans were not happy about the removal and took to social media to make that clear.
As expected, its creator, Annabel Oakes, was also devastated, calling the stunt “brutal.”
She wrote on Instagram, “I am sorry to say that this is true. Rise of the Pink Ladies has been canceled. In a particularly brutal move, it is also being removed from Paramount+ next and unless it finds a new home you will no longer be able to watch it anywhere. The cast, my creative partners, and I are all devastated at the complete erasure of our show.”
She continued by saying, “Thank you to our beautiful fans. The music will remain even after the show is taken down. I’ve loved your art, your TikToks, and even and especially your wild fan fic and ships.
“People are already sending messages and videos about how much the show meant to them and I absolutely love hearing and seeing them. The #1 thing we would love is for you to watch the show before it comes down.”
If it were to win an Emmy, would Paramount+ finally see the value in bringing it back? As a big streamer, you’d want to show off your Emmy-winning show, surely?
(featured image: Paramount+)
