The streaming era has ushered in an uncomfortable first: Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies has been nominated for two Emmy Awards, but as of the time of publishing, it can’t be watched anywhere.
The Grease prequel series debuted on Paramount+ on April 6, airing weekly installments through June 1. Although it had been slowly building a cult following throughout its first season, the musical series was canceled on June 23, along with The Game, Star Trek: Prodigy, and Queen of the Universe. In addition, Paramount+ announced that all four shows would be removed from the streaming service, and they were, indeed, taken off it within a matter of days.
The 2023 Emmy nominees were announced on Wednesday, July 12, about two weeks after Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies was scrubbed from existence (it exists now only in YouTube and TikTok videos and on music streaming services). It received two nominations in the Outstanding Choreography for Scripted Programming category for six different dance routines created for the show. Choreographer Jamal Sims was nominated for “New Cool” (below), “Hand Jive,” and “The Boom,” and Jeffrey Mortensen and Louise Hradsky were nominated together for “Pulling Strings,” “Hit Me Again,” and “High Rollin’.”
The nominations will certainly serve as more fuel for Pink Ladies fans’ fire. Since its cancellation and streaming removal, avid fans of the series have been advocating for it to be saved under the #SaveRiseOfThePinkLadies hashtag across social media platforms. Even cast members have gotten involved in trying to save the show. Cast member Jackie Hoffman, who played Rydell High Assistant Principal McGee, appears in one of the videos on the Save Our Pinks TikTok account, which includes a Change.org petition with nearly 50,000 signatures linked in its bio.
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies isn’t the only canceled show to be nominated for an Emmy this year. The Nevers suffered a similar, though less upsetting, fate as Pink Ladies. The Laura Donnelly-led series was canceled by HBO and pulled off of Max; six new episodes debuted with ads on TUBI instead. “It’s a Good Day,” one of the six TUBI episodes, is now nominated for Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Single Episode.
Another canceled HBO show, Perry Mason, is also nominated, though the Matthew Rhys-led detective noir is still available to stream on Max. Perry Mason Season 2 is nominated for Outstanding Production Design For a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More) and Outstanding Period Costumes For a Series.
Additionally, the canceled Call Me Kat (streaming on Fox‘s website and Hulu) is nominated for Outstanding Picture Editing For a Multi-Camera Comedy Series, and the canceled Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy (streaming on Max) has four nominations: Outstanding Cinematography For a Nonfiction Program, Outstanding Picture Editing For a Nonfiction Program, Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special, and Outstanding Sound Mixing For a Nonfiction Program (Single or Multi-Camera).
Set in 1954, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies follows four fed-up outcasts who dare to have fun on their own terms, sparking a moral panic that will change Rydell High forever. It starred Marisa Davila as Jane Facciano, Cheyenne Isabel Wells as Olivia Valdovino, Ari Notartomaso as Cynthia Zdunowski, and Tricia Fukuhara as Nancy Nakagawa. Shanel Bailey, Madison Thompson, Johnathan Nieves, Jason Schmidt, and Maxwell Whittington-Cooper also starred.
Shows getting nominations after being canceled always stings, but it’s particularly noteworthy that Paramount+ has made it entirely impossible to view Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies. The series hardly had a chance to grow its audience after the conclusion of Season 1, given how swiftly it was scrubbed from the platform post-finale. And given that the Emmy nominations were announced the same day that SAG-AFTRA could potentially decide to strike, joining the WGA writers in their strike efforts, its cancellation, removal, and nominations serve as a prescient example of what artists in Hollywood are fighting to save.
What do you think of these canceled shows getting nominations? Should Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies be saved by another streaming service? Let us know in the comments below.
This story originally appeared on TV Insider
