‘Legally Blonde’ Television Series Is In the Works, with Reese Witherspoon and the Duo Behind ‘Gossip Girl’ Producing It

Witherspoon—though not confirmed to star in the project—has previously said she’d like to see what Elle Woods was like in her forties.

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Reese Witherspoon in "Legally Blonde"
(Image credit: Getty Images)

It has been a full 21 years since Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde—the followup to the 2001 original—came to the screen in 2003. Fans of the Reese Witherspoon-helmed franchise have been clamoring for a Legally Blonde 3 since, and while we’re not getting a film (yet, anyway), good news on this front: we’re getting a television series, multiple outlets report.

A still from the movie Legally Blonde

It would be difficult to imagine an iteration of 'Legally Blonde' without Elle Woods.

(Image credit: Courtesy)

Variety reports that Witherspoon is executive producing the series under her Hello Sunshine banner, along with the duo behind Gossip Girl and The OC, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (who are also writing the series). Plot details surrounding the series aren’t confirmed yet, but the show will be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.

The original film was a massive box office success, grossing over $140 million worldwide. A stage musical based on the 2001 movie debuted on Broadway in 2007, and received multiple Tony nominations.

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Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde

Witherspoon (and Bruiser!) on the set of 'Legally Blonde.'

(Image credit: Getty Images)

It’s unclear if Witherspoon will star in the series in addition to executive producing, but she previously told The Hollywood Reporter that she was interested in revisiting Elle in her forties: “I want to discover what age means to that character,” she said in 2019. “Aging, contemporary ideas, how things have evolved—or not evolved.”

And, in addition to the series, we shouldn’t give up hope of a future film happening—Deadline reports that Legally Blonde 3, co-written by Mindy Kaling and Dan Goor, has been in the works for several years. Kaling acknowledged that writing the sequel was “going a little more slowly than we like” back in April 2022, four years after Witherspoon announced the project in June 2018. The reason? “Just because we really want it to be good,” Kaling said. “I think of it like Reese’s Avengers. Elle Woods is like her Captain America, and so you don’t want to be the person that messes up that story.” 

Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde

Witherspoon and the franchise go way back. She's seen here at the original film's premiere 23 years ago.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

A few months later, though, Witherspoon gave an encouraging update, saying that Top Gun: Maverick had given her inspiration to do Legally Blonde 3 correctly. “I feel like these characters are my friends, so I safeguard them,” she told USA Today. “I would never make the subpar, mediocre version of their story.”

Rachel Burchfield
Rachel Burchfield
Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.