Why Every Lesbian Needs to Watch Grease Rise of the Pink Ladies (TV Series 2023)

A Lesbian’s Love Letter to Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies (Yes, I’m Still Not Over It)

Hey queens, butches, femmes, baby dykes, and everyone who’s ever screamed at their TV because two girls looked at each other for 0.5 seconds too long – this one’s for us.

I’m gonna be real with you: when I heard they were making a Grease prequel, I rolled my eyes so hard I saw my own brain. Another straight nostalgia cash-grab? Pass. Then I saw the trailer. One glimpse of Ari Notartomaso in that leather jacket, slicked-back hair, and that “I could ruin your life and you’d thank me” smirk… and I was on Paramount+ faster than you can say “tell me about it, stud.”

Turns out Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies isn’t just good. It’s the lesbian gift we didn’t deserve but desperately needed in 2023.

Let’s start with the obvious: Cynthia Zdunowski is the hottest, butchest, most perfect lesbian character ever put on screen in a 1950s setting. Ari Notartomaso (who is literally queer IRL, bless) plays her like they were born to wear that T-Birds jacket and break every girl’s heart in Rydell High. Cynthia is tough, sarcastic, funny as hell, and so deeply, achingly gay it hurts. The way she looks at Lydia? I felt that in my SOUL.

And yes, we actually get the lesbian love story. Not subtext. Not “gal pals.” Not queerbaiting. A full-on, sung-about, kissed-on-screen, “I’m in love with you and I don’t care who knows” lesbian romance between Cynthia and Lydia. In the 1950s. In a Grease show. I’m still recovering.

Episode 5 – the Halloween episode – should be studied in film schools. Cynthia dresses as James Dean, Lydia as a greaser girl, they get stuck in a photo booth together, and… yeah, they kiss. And Cynthia’s face after? That little smile? The pure joy and terror of realizing you just kissed a girl and liked it (loved it, actually)? I had to pause the show and stare at my ceiling for ten minutes.

Then episode 10… oh my god. “Crushing Me” – the song Cynthia sings to Lydia – is the gayest thing ever committed to television. Ari’s voice, the lyrics, the way they’re literally wearing matching leather jackets by the end… I cried like a baby. Actual tears streaming down my face because finally, FINALLY, we got to see a butch lesbian in the 50s be unapologetically in love with a girl and have that girl love her back.

And it’s not just Cynthia. The entire show is dripping in lesbian energy. The Pink Ladies’ friendship? The way they protect each other, hype each other up, choose each other over boys again and again? That’s lesbian culture, baby. Nancy Nakagawa is giving asexual queen vibes and is the most supportive bestie ever (she literally tells Cynthia to go get her girl – I love her). Olivia is chaotic bi energy. Jane is the straight ally we all wish we had in high school. Even the background vibes are gay as hell.

The fashion alone is enough to make any lesbian lose their mind. Leather jackets, rolled-up jeans, pompadours, cropped tops, the COLOR PINK used as a weapon… this show understood the assignment. I’ve never wanted to dress like four different characters at once this badly.

Look, I know the show got cancelled (Paramount+ I’m in your walls) and then they removed it from streaming like it never existed (I’m still furious). But the fact that we even got ten episodes of this glorious, unapologetic queer joy in 2023 feels like a miracle. Ari Notartomaso said in interviews they talked to actual lesbians who lived through the 50s to make Cynthia authentic, and you can FEEL it. This isn’t some writer’s fantasy of what a 50s lesbian “might” have been like – this is real, raw, beautiful butch tenderness.

I’ve watched those Cynthia/Lydia scenes an embarrassing number of times. The way Lydia touches Cynthia’s face after the kiss. The way Cynthia’s voice cracks when she says “I think I’m…” The way they hold hands at the end like they’re daring the entire world to say something. I’m not okay.

If you’re a lesbian who grew up on subtext and crumbs, this show will heal something in you. If you’re a baby dyke who’s never seen yourself on screen before, this show will make you feel seen in a way that’s almost painful. And if you’re just a gremlin who likes hot girls in leather jackets making out… well, welcome home.

Do yourself a favor: find the show (yes, it’s out there if you know where to look… wink), put on your favorite leather jacket, grab some popcorn, and let Cynthia Zdunowski ruin your life in the best possible way.

Because trust me – once you see a butch lesbian in 1954 singing her heart out to the girl she loves while wearing a Pink Ladies jacket… there’s no going back.

We deserved season 2. We deserved to see them go to prom together. We deserved more. But what we got? It was perfect. It was ours.

And no one touch me, I’m still emotional about two fictional 50s lesbians who never even got to slow dance in public.

Long live Cynthia and Lydia. Long live the Pink Ladies. And long live every lesbian who finally got to see herself in Grease.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go rewatch “Crushing Me” for the 47th time and cry again.

Drop your favorite Cynthia moment in the comments – I need to know I’m not alone in this obsession.