All About The New Heathers Remake

Heathers, the ’80s cult classic, has officially been remade. Though the show won’t feature Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, it will include the same characters and some of the movie’s most famous lines. Find out everything you need to know right here.

When will it premiere?

The show was originally set to premiere Wednesday, March 7, at 10 P.M. on Paramount Network. However, the premiere date was then delayed due to the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and later cancelled after the Santa Fe school shooting.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Keith Cox, Paramount Network president of development and production, said, “This is a high school show, we’re blowing up the school, there are guns in the school, it’s a satire and there are moments of teachers having guns. It’s hitting on so many hot topics. This company can’t be speaking out of both sides of its mouth, saying the youth movement is important for us and we’ve done all these wonderful things to support that and at the same time, we’re putting on a show that we’re not comfortable with.”

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However, even though Paramount scrapped the reboot back in June, the Heathers revival will finally see the light of day and will premiere on October 25, Deadline reports. From there, two episodes will air each night through October 29. After the series finale, there will be a Heathers-themed episode of Lip Sync Battle starring Heathers actors Melanie Field and Brendan Scannell. If you’d rather watch Heathers in one sitting, Paramount will have all nine episodes of the series available for streaming on its app and online.

How many episodes will there be?

There are nine episodes in season one. A second season has not been confirmed.

What will it be about?

The hour-long show will be a black comedy anthology based on the 1988 cult film Heathers. The television adaptation’s main characters will have the same names as the film’s main characters, but the show will take place in the present day, with the protagonist Veronica Sawyer (played by Ryder in the film) facing off against a new group of Heathers (played by Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, and Kim Walker in the original).

According to the trailer, the show’s first season will at least loosely follow the plot of the original movie. The Heathers still rule high school, and once Veronica starts dating the dark and dangerous J.D., they plot to kill one of the Heathers. The trailer also alludes to some other student deaths, which would mirror the film. There’s also a typical high-school prom scene, someone suspiciously rollerblading through blood, and a football player seemingly falling from the sky.

Who’s in it?

Grace Victoria Cox and James Scully will play Veronica Sawyer and J.D. (Christian Slater in the film). Heather Chandler will be played by Melanie Field, Heather “Heath” Duke will be played by Brendan Scannell, and Heather McNamara will be played by Jasmine Matthews. Selma Blair will play Jade, Heather Duke’s stripper stepmother, and Shannen Doherty, one of the original Heathers from the film, will also make an appearance.

Has there been any controversy?

In short, yes. The new Heathers include a “body positive” Heather, a genderqueer Heather, and a Heather who’s a woman of color. However, Veronica is still a straight, white female, causing people to question why the show’s bullies are from marginalized groups while the supposed victim is still a white, cis woman.

In response to the casting, the Heathers showrunner Jason Micallef told Entertainment Weekly, “The main thing to really take away is I don’t view the Heathers as the villains. The three Heathers are incredibly powerful and ruling the school; they’re the people you would want to be. In the original film, the Heathers were the ones I always loved, and it’s the same with the series. The Heathers are the aspirational characters. [That the Heathers are the villains is] the underlying thesis of the small segment of people that have an issue with it. The villain is J.D.—and that’s the same in the movie and same in our show.”

Can I watch the trailer?

Why yes, you can:

Madison is a senior writer/editor at ELLE.com, covering news, politics, and culture. When she’s not on the internet, you can most likely find her taking a nap or eating banana bread.