Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies resorted to other options after Johnathan Nieves' exit

The Rise of the Pink Ladies may have scared a T-Bird out of existence.

The first season of the Grease prequel has officially come to an end, chronicling the formation of Rydell High's sole girl gang. In the wake of the finale, however, the biggest question has more to do with the T-Birds than the titular Pink Ladies. During the final few episodes, viewers may have noticed the reduced presence of Johnathan Nieves' Richie Valdovinos.

EW has learned that with Nieves unavailable for particular scenes, production had to explore other options to make sure his character was still a part of the final episodes.

Paramount+ and Paramount Television Studios declined to comment. Representatives for Nieves did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.

Eduardo Araquel/Paramount+ Johnathan Nieves in 'Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies'

Those alternative options are particularly noticeable in the eighth episode, "Or at the High School Dance…"

When Jane (Marisa Davila), a founding member of the Pink Ladies, is confronted by the betrayal of Buddy (Jason Schmidt), Richie steps in to defend her. Eagle-eyed fans noticed the scene only contained brief shots of Nieves' face, and that he was otherwise only seen from behind. Upon closer inspection, it appears as though a CGI image of Nieves' face was placed on the head of a body double to mask Nieves' absence.

See the moment in the below tweet, which has gone viral since it was posted last week.

Richie, a crucial figure in the early part of the series, is a member of the T-Birds, the older brother of Olivia (Cheyenne Isabel Wells), and a potential love interest for Jane. Following the above scene, Richie is arrested and sent to jail. The character's arc concludes with him being shipped off to military school in a scene where he is only seen from behind.

The Grease prequel takes place four years before Sandy Olsson and Danny Zuko start their famous summer lovin'. It follows the titular Pink Ladies, a gang of girls who are fed up with the Rydell High social hierarchy and decide to shake things up by starting their own group. The series concluded its 10-episode first season earlier this month.

Additional reporting by Nick Romano.

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