Grease Live set to air on Fox in 2015

A young ensemble cast will bring the 1971 Broadway musical to live on screen

A three-hour live broadcast of Grease is set to air in 2015, US network Fox has confirmed.

Following on from the success of NBC's The Sound of Music Live, a young ensemble cast will perform the hit musical, based on the 1971 Broadway production.

The book, lyrics and music will be taken from the 1978 film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, which to date has grossed almost $400 million worldwide – the most successful of its genre.

Production partners and cast members for Grease Live are yet to be announced, but Fox's Shana C Waterman spoke of her excitement at bringing "one of the most beloved musical stories ever told" to viewers.

"Its iconic and addictive songs make it the perfect fit for Fox and we're going to give it the kind of star power and production quality to make every Sandy, Danny, Rizzo and Kenickie out there want to get up and sing along," she said.

Broadcast in December, The Sound of Music Live saw NBC rake in massive ratings of around 22 million viewers. The next NBC performance will be a live version of Peter Pan next Christmas.

Fox’s project comes after the network enjoyed huge success with musical drama Glee, which featured Grease in several of its episodes.