We follow four outcasts on their first day of junior year at Rydell High. There’s Jane, a brainiac good student who wants to run for student council but is fighting tawdry rumors about her. Olivia, who is still fighting off a scandal from last year. Cynthia, who just wants to be one of the boys. Nancy, a fashion maven who is growing apart from her childhood friends. The four unlikely friends will shake up the social order of Rydell High.
A moral panic drives Jane and her friends to create their own narrative and name and The Pink Ladies "girl gang" is officially formed.
School elections are approaching and both sides reexamine what they stand for. Newcomer Hazel is on her first day at Rydell and tries to remain impartial - and invisible.
The administration is determined to squash the brewing teenage rebellion at Rydell. A new scandal galvanizes Olivia to take action, but causes Jane to consider giving up.
On Halloween, a last-minute move by Buddy and the Socs threatens to blow up Jane's campaign, and romance proves to be tricky for the Pink Ladies.
With the election over, Cynthia questions whether the Pink Ladies' relationship will be the same as she rehearses for the play. As the girls consider who they are without each other, they make unexpected connections. Nancy struggles to delegate her vision to Hazel while making costumes for the play. Jane and Susan, at the peak of their frustrations with one another, are forced to take drivers ed together. And Olivia must ask for Mr. Daniels help to do an investigation for the newspaper.
This one's for the boys. Richie is torn up over Jane, but rather than deal with it, he escapes with the T-Birds on a once-in-a-life-time excursion that promises girls, games, and glory. But when things go sideways, each of the T-Birds will have to confront the things they're running from. Back in Rydell, a conversation makes Buddy wonder if everything he knows about himself is actually true.
The Pink Ladies must team up with Susan to get the school dance they envisioned approved by the PTA. When nothing goes as planned, friendships are broken and secrets are revealed, leading to major consequences. Along the way, the Pink Ladies debate whether Susan, or anyone, can really change. Nancy and Cynthia are afflicted with crushes, but deal with them in very different ways.
A storm hits Rydell as everyone deals with the fallout of the dance. The Pink Ladies each get what they've always wanted, but find it's not all it's cracked up to be. Jane tries to undo the damage she's caused while Olivia considers a big decision. Nancy vows to keep the gang together but when things look hopeless, she gets help from an unexpected source. With the school in a blackout, the future of the Pink Ladies seems more uncertain than ever.
Jane makes a dangerous proposition that will decide the fate of someone's future at Rydell while Olivia takes a big step toward her own future. Meanwhile, a surprise confession leads a sleep-deprived Hazel to seek advice from Jane, Cynthia gets unusually mad at Nancy, Susan steps up in a big way, and Miss McGee is pushed to her limits while putting together the school carnival. In the end, Rydell loses a student, but gains a new one.
