Paramount Network to air that Heathers TV reboot, but not before taking a chainsaw to it
When last we heard tell of the Heathers TV reboot, the controversial series had been expelled from the Paramount Network—after previously seeing its premiere date delayed in the wake of the Parkland school shooting—and was in search of new halls in which to wreak havoc. Now, Deadline reports that the series has returned to Paramount, where an edited version of its first season will unfold across a single week later this month.
The adaptation emerged as a lightning rod of controversy for numerous reasons, not the least of which being the show’s hook, which seeks to subvert the original’s outsider vs. cool kid conflict by making its titular clique consist of a plus-sized model, a gender-queer teen, and a lesbian person of color. There’s also the general uneasiness with a modern series mining comedy from the intersection of schools, guns, and suicide. As such, Deadline reports that the climactic explosion of the story’s high school has been edited out, necessitating the series to air just nine episodes instead of 10. The final two episodes were reportedly combined to create a cliffhanger ending. Other scenes, including one of teachers brandishing guns, was also changed.