'Grease' spin-off musical TV series is ordered by HBO

A new TV series being described as 'Grease 2.0' is coming to HBO's streaming service HBO Max, according to reports.

It's ordered Grease: Rydell High, a musical spin-off 'inspired by' the classic 1978 movie, which cemented the careers of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.

It will reportedly feature 'some characters you already know, and a whole lot more you will soon meet'.

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According to Variety, however, it's unlikely to feature any of the original music from the movie, as the estate which represents composers Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey are 'withholding rights' to the likes of Summer Nights and Grease Lightning.

“We’re going to build out the world of this show which everybody loves, in that musical style, and build basically a ‘High Shcool Musical’ kind of experience that will be a big fun rock and roll musical,” said WarnerMedia Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt.

“Grease is an iconic pop-culture phenomenon that works for every generation, and I’m thrilled that our friends at Paramount were excited about the idea of opening up the show and putting it on a larger canvas for a weekly series,” added Sarah Aubrey, the head of content at HBO Max.

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“It’s Grease 2.0 but with the same spirit, energy and excitement you immediately think of when you hear any of these iconic songs.”

It was announced earlier this year that Paramount Pictures is also planning a prequel movie, called Summer Loving, which will look into that fabled summer holiday when Danny Zuko met Sandy Olsson (as detailed in the song Summer Nights).

John August, the scribe of movies like Big Fish and the adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for Tim Burton, is writing.