Elle Woods is heading back to school, and you bet she’s bringing all the sass and glam with her. Fans of the Legally Blonde films will soon be introduced to a younger version of the iconic, pink-loving, quick-witted lawyer in the upcoming prequel series, Elle. The series, executive produced by Reese Witherspoon, who originally brought the character to life in the 2001 romantic comedy classic, now has an official release window. Elle is set to debut this summer, as announced during Prime Video’s upfront presentation in New York City. The news was later confirmed by Witherspoon herself, who took to Instagram to share a first-look image of Lexi Minetree as the young Elle.
“I’m so thrilled to introduce Lexi Minetree as Elle Woods,” began the caption on Witherspoon’s post. “✨The new star of our TV show ELLE! ✨She is stepping into these pink shoes with so much grace, ambition, and charm. Elle is coming to Prime Video Summer 2026!” While those iconic pink shoes aren’t visible in the solo image shared, Elle’s love for pink and all things fabulous is loud enough. She’s seen sitting pretty in class, dressed in a pink sleeveless dress with twin pink hair clips holding up her hairdo. Her desk is neatly arranged with two pink notebooks and a pen with a pink furry charm to match.
Set in the ’90s, Elle will cover the background story of the titular character, beginning in her teenage years, long before her quest to reconcile with her boyfriend sets her on a rewarding path of self-awareness and discovery. Before her days at Harvard Law, we’ll see Elle navigate through high school and, per the official logline, “learn about the life experiences that shaped her into the iconic young woman we came to know and love in the first Legally Blonde film.” The series is created by Laura Kittrell (Insecure) and Caroline Dries (The Vampire Diaries) with Marc Platt, Lauren Neustadter, and Lauren Kisilevs also producing.
Elle was officially ordered to series in May 2024, and production is seemingly coming along swiftly, as Witherspoon has shared a progress report on filming. The actress made a virtual appearance during the upfront presentation to announce that production is two episodes in. “I so loved seeing all of you at the upfronts last year and telling you about our new show, ‘Elle,’ where we go back to high school in the ’90s with Elle Woods,” Witherspoon said, continuing:
“When I was talking about this last year with you, it was just a dream, and now it’s a dream come true, because the teams in Hello Sunshine and Prime Video have been working so hard since I last saw you. I am excited to report that we are in production, and not only in production, we are two episodes in. I was on set last week, and I got to see the whole cast and everybody who’s worked so hard to make this dream come true.”
Elle has indeed assembled a fantastic cast made up of many promising young talents. They include June Diane Raphael as Elle’s mom Eva, Tom Everett Scott as Elle’s dad Wyatt, Gabrielle Policano as Liz, and Jacob Moskovitz as Miles, as well as Chandler Kinney, Zac Looker, Jessica Belkin, Logan Shroyer, and Amy Pietz.
Elle Season 1 will premiere on Prime Video in Summer 2026.
via Collider