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Prime Video has ordered Elle, the prequel series to the 2001 movie Legally Blonde, Deadline reported.
This makes Legally Blonde the first big MGM property to have a TV series. The prequel will be produced the franchise's star Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon under her Hello Sunshine banner, which is a part of Candle Media. The new series was revealed at Prime Video's inaugural upfronts today.
Legally Blonde goes back to the '90s
Laura Kittrell created Elle and will also serve as the showrunner. The prequel series follows the story of Elle Woods in high school. We will learn about her experiences that made her into the iconic Elle we came to know and love in the 2001 film.
The first time we met Elle. she was a senior at the fictional California University Los Angeles. In the novel, it's the University of Southern California (USC) and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in the musical. She was introduced to us as the president of the Delta Nu sorority and maintained a 4.0 average, majoring in Fashion Merchandising.
It was reported last month that Amazon MGM Studios was developing two Legally Blonde properties with Witherspoon's production company Hello Sunshine and another with the duo behind Gossip Girl, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage. Now we know that Hello Sunshine will work on the series while Schwartz and Savage will develop the spinoff.
Do you still remember “bend and snap”?
Witherspoon said, “I truly couldn't be more excited about this series! Fans will get to know how Elle Woods navigated her world as a teenager with her distinct personality and ingenuity, in ways that only our beloved Elle could do.”
“What could be better than that?! I'm extremely grateful to the incredible teams at Prime Video and Hello Sunshine — along with our amazing writer Laura Kittrell — for making this dream of mine come true. Legally Blonde is back!” she continued.
Kittrell will serve as executive producer with Witherspoon along with Lauren Neustadter and Lauren Kisilevsky of Hello Sunshine. Marc Platt, who served as producer with the Legally Blonde franchise, will also EP. Amazon and MGM Studios and Hello Sunshine produce Elle.
The studio's head of television Vernon Sanders said, “One of the most quotable, iconic, and beloved characters that is ingrained in the fabric of Hollywood history has to be Elle Woods, and we are honored to bring her origin story to our global Prime Video customers.”
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“Reese and Hello Sunshine's vision for this series, coupled with Laura Kittrell's winning voice, made this show completely undeniable,” he continued.
Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith wrote the first Legally Blonde film, based on Amanda Brown's 2001 novel of the same name. When the movie was released, it became an instant pop culture phenomenon and catapulted Witherspoon to superstardom.
The first film was a massive commercial success. It earned $141.8 million worldwide on an $18 million budget. Adjusted for inflation, that's equivalent to $250 million today.
The 2003 sequel, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, earned slightly less but was still considered a hit. A third movie was made, this time without the main cast, and was sent direct-to-video. It was originally conceived as the pilot episode for a possible series. Legally Blonde 3, which was co-written by Mindy Kaling and Dan Goor. It has been in progress for several years now.
Amazon MGM Studios and Hello Sunshine previously collaborated to produce the hit Prime Video limited series Daisy Jones & the Six.
Elle Woods' life as a teenager in the '90s
Doing a quick math, in 2001 Elle Woods was 22. The prequel would most likely place her between 16 to 18 years old, which means that the series would be set in the mid to late '90s — the age older millennials are in now.
Personally speaking, I'm excited for the project. I want to know what a younger Elle Woods is like. When we met her in the first movie, she was already an adult. In the prequel, she'd be a teenager — a teenager in the '90s.
As for me, I'll be watching Elle for two reasons: meeting a teenaged Ms. Woods and for nostalgia. There aren't a lot of modern shows set in that specific time period in the '90s.
