Heathers is so Very

BY: Zak Wojnar

When it first released in 1989, Heathers was somewhat overlooked at the box office, though it became a cult hit with a long life at video rental stores. The film’s pitch black comedy and resonantly nihilistic themes made an impact with teenagers of the era, and it has steadily continued to influence generations of outcasts to this day. The movie inspired an off-Broadway musical, and now the upstart Paramount Network is making a TV adaptation to introduce a new swath of young people to the world of Heathers.

Heathers on Paramount is a reimagining of the original story of misanthropy and murder, using the classic concept and characters as a starting point for telling the well-known story through a modern lens. This time, the titular Heathers include a gay boy (Brendan Scannell) and an overweight girl (Melanie Field). In another time, she would have been tortured by the Heathers like Martha “Dumptruck” Dunnstock from the original film.

In a casting coup, one of the original actors from the film, the beautiful and talented Shannen Doherty, will have a recurring role on the new series. Doherty plays JD’s mom, who committed suicide before the events of the series. Presumably, she will appear in dream sequences or flashbacks, or even hallucinations by JD, who is played by James Scully.

The series is being billed as an anthology, with the goal being for each season to take place in a different school, allowing for all-new casts and stories as the years go on, so we’re expecting the series to deviate even further from the original film in subsequent seasons.

Heathers premieres later this year on the Paramount Network.