Heathers is an American black comedy television series, created by Jason Micallef, that premiered on October 25, 2018, on Paramount Network. A modern-day reboot of the 1989 film of the same name written by Daniel Waters, it stars Grace Victoria Cox, James Scully, Melanie Field, Brendan Scannell and Jasmine Mathews. The series follows high school student Veronica Sawyer and her conflicts with a self-titled clique consisting of three fellow students who share the name Heather. The series was intended to be an anthology, with each season taking place in an entirely different setting from the original film.
The series was originally in development for TV Land, but it was moved to the 2018 launch slate for its rebranded sister network Paramount Network, with a premiere scheduled for March 2018. In the wake of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and the program's subject matter, Paramount Network delayed the premiere to July 2018. However, on June 1, 2018, Paramount Network's parent company Viacom dropped Heathers entirely due to continued concern for its content following the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting two weeks prior.
Despite the premiere's cancellation in the United States, the series had already been sold in international markets where it went on to debut as previously scheduled in its original ten-episode version. It aired for the first time on July 11, 2018, on HBO Europe in select European territories.
On October 4, 2018, it was announced that the series would premiere in United States on October 25, 2018, on Paramount Network over the course of five nights. The series was edited for content by the network resulting in numerous cuts and the number of episodes being reduced from 10 to nine, with the original final two episodes being combined into one.
Despite reports by the writers that a second season, Heathers: Revolution, had a complete script, Paramount Network's president Kent Alterman announced in an interview on May 1, 2019, that Heathers had been canceled.
Premise In the town of Sherwood, Ohio, Veronica Sawyer (Grace Victoria Cox) is the newest member of the most powerful clique at Westerberg High School, "the Heathers"; Heather Chandler (Melanie Field), a rich girl who is fairly famous on social media for her social justice posts, and her "sidekicks" Heather Duke (Brendan Scannell) and Heather McNamara (Jasmine Mathews). Veronica has a deep-seated jealousy of the Heathers, a jealousy that turns into hatred towards Heather Chandler and the status quo she maintains. One day, Veronica is confronted with the realization that, unlike her classmates, she has no real sense of individuality and is destined to be forgotten. Joined by a jaded and aloof transfer student named Jason "J.D." Dean (James Scully), Veronica hopes to make her way through her senior year with all of her morals intact.
Cast and characters Main Grace Victoria Cox as Veronica Sawyer, a self-described "good person" who is really a cold-hearted psychopath who struggles with her sense of identity and is a part of the most popular clique of Westerberg. Maisie de Krassel portrays a young Veronica Melanie Field as Heather Chandler, the social justice warrior leader of the most popular clique of Westerberg's senior class and the queen bee of the school. She has gained major traction on a number of social media platforms. Emma Shannon portrays a young Heather in the episode "Reindeer Games" James Scully as Jason "JD" Dean, Veronica's love interest and a new student at Westerburg with the tendency to wax poetic about the adolescent experience. Maverick Thompson portrays a young JD Brendan Scannell as Heather Duke, a member of the Heathers who identifies as genderqueer. They are Heather Chandler's second-in-command and do not hesitate to talk down to whomever they view as lesser than them. Jack R. Lewis portrays a young Heather in the episode "Do I Look Like Mother Teresa?" Jasmine Mathews as Heather McNamara, a biracial girl who identified as a lesbian but, after being exposed for having an affair with an adult faculty member, is outed as bisexual and becomes a social pariah. She seems to be the most naive and timid member of the Heathers with an underlying transphobia problem.
Recurring
Deanna Cheng as Pauline Fleming, Westerberg's driven guidance counselor Drew Droege as Maurice Dennis, Westerberg's melodramatic art teacher Kurt Fuller as Principal Gowan, the principal of Westerburg High School Travis Schuldt as Coach Cox, Westerberg's football coach Nikki SooHoo as Betty Finn, Veronica's childhood best friend, who secretly wants to be just as popular as her Ella Gross portrays a young Betty Cameron Gellman as Kurt Kelly, the quarterback of the Westerburg High School football team who is secretly dating Heather Duke Mandy June Turpin as Mrs. Sawyer, Veronica's oblivious mother Wallace Langham as Kevin Sawyer, Veronica's oblivious father Rebecca Wisocky as Martha Chandler, Heather Chandler's mother and a former stage actress who does not believe that her daughter has any talent Jamie Kaler as Big Bud Dean, JD's father and the owner of Big Bud Oil and Gas, an oil and gas company Matthew Rocheleau as David Waters, a Westerburg teacher who has an affair with Heather McNamara Brett Cooper as Brianna Parker/"Trailer Parker", a poor student at Westerburg High who is bullied due to her social class Jesse Leigh as Peter Dawson, Class President of Westerburg High School, a gossip, and a member of the "Gay Nerds" Romel De Silva as Kyle, one of Peter's best friends who is obsessed with the Heathers and is a member of the "Gay Nerds" Adwin Brown as Seth, a member of the "Gay Nerds" Jeremy Culhane as Dylen Lutz, a lovable loser who is picked on by most of the student body Christina Burdette as Jesus Julie, a religious student who is friends with Betty and Shelby Annalisa Cochrane as Shelby Dunnstock, a ditzy cheerleader who is one of Betty Finn's friends and is constantly undermined by the Heathers Sophia Grosso as Driffany Tompkins, a Westerburg student Allyn Morse as Annie, a Westerburg student Paige Weldon as Lily, a Westerburg student
Guest
Cayden Boyd as Ram Sweeney, the best friend of Kurt Kelly and another member of the Westerburg High School football team Karen Maruyama as Mrs. Finn, Betty's mother Birgundi Baker as Lizzy, a new student at Westerburg High, who was raised in the foster care system and is eager to learn the ways of Heather Chandler Reece Caddell as Lucy McCord, a childhood friend of Veronica and Betty who was murdered by Veronica with a croquet mallet Jen Zaborowski as Mrs. Zaborowski, a Westerburg teacher Joel Spence as Mr. Chandler, Heather Chandler's father Lilli Birdsell as Mrs. McNamara, Heather McNamara's mother Phil LaMarr as Mr. McNamara, Heather McNamara's father April Bowlby as Teyna, Big Bud Dean's girlfriend Salma Khan as Amita, an influencer James Kirkland as a disc jockey at Betty's party and the prom Vic Chao as Mr. Finn, Betty's father Casey Wilson as Lexi Anne, a news anchor Evan Crooks as Jacob, Veronica's hook up at the art exhibit Michael D. Roberts as Captain Lehman Mo Gaffney as Margie Kane Josh Fadem as Dathan Jeannetta Arnette as Mrs. Kelly Larry Poindexter as Mr. Kelly Jen Caldwell as Cathy Ishmael Camille Hyde as Rebecca
Special guest-star Selma Blair as Jade Duke, Heather Duke's step-mother, a stripper and menthol smoker who's biding her time until her 82-year-old husband dies Shannen Doherty as Mrs. Dean, JD's mom who committed suicide when he was just a child. Doherty played Heather Duke in the original 1989 film. Doherty also appears as Dr. Destiny during a hallucination in the episode "Reindeer Games"
Episodes
Notes
Production Development
On August 27, 2009, Sony Pictures Television announced that Heathers was to be adapted for television to air on Fox. Mark Rizzo was hired to write the series, and Jenny Bicks was to co-produce with Lakeshore Entertainment. The program was described as a modernized version of the original story, and all characters from the film were expected to be scripted into the adaptation.
On September 12, 2012, it was announced that the television network Bravo would begin developing a Heathers reboot unrelated to the earlier announcement by Sony Pictures Television. The storyline was to pick up twenty years after the events of the film when Veronica returns home to Sherwood, Ohio with her teenage daughter, who had to contend with the next generation of mean girls, all named "Ashley". They were to all be the daughters of the two surviving Heathers. Neither Ryder nor Slater were attached to the project. In August 2013, Bravo declined to order the series.
On January 13, 2017, TV Land ordered a newly developed iteration of the series, described as an anthology dark comedy set in the present day. The series was set to be written by Jason Micallef and Tom Rosenberg, with Gary Lucchesi serving as an executive producer for Lakeshore Entertainment. On January 13, 2017, Heathers was ordered to series at TV Land.
On March 16, 2017, it was reported that the series would move to Paramount Network, a planned rebranding of TV Land's sister network Spike. On June 1, 2018, however, it was announced that Paramount Network had dropped the series due to concerns over its content in the wake of recent school shootings in the United States. It was reported that the series' producers had begun to shop the series to other broadcasters, and that writing for a potential second season had neared completion, which would take place in an entirely different setting than the first season and original film. By July 16, 2018, it was reported that both Netflix and Freeform had passed on the series. On October 4, 2018, it was announced that Viacom and Paramount Network had reversed their decision on the series and that, following various edits and a reduction in episode count from 10 to 9, the series would premiere on the cable network on October 25, 2018.
Casting On October 11, 2016, it was announced that James Scully and Grace Victoria Cox had been cast in the male and female leads J.D. and Veronica. Later that month, Melanie Field, Brendan Scannell, and Jasmine Mathews joined the main cast as the titular "Heathers" (Heather Chandler, Heather Duke, and Heather McNamara, respectively). On November 22, 2016, it was announced that original film cast member Shannen Doherty had been cast as a pivotal character in the series' pilot episode. It was later reported that she is set to appear in three of the first season's episodes in total. On June 23, 2017, Birgundi Baker and Cameron Gellman signed onto the series in the recurring roles of Lizzy and Kurt, respectively. On July 6, 2017, it was reported that Selma Blair had been cast in the recurring role of Jade, "the gold-digging stepmother to Heather Duke" who is described as "a stripper menthol smoker who is rough around the edges, but with a bit of glamour to her."
Filming In November 2016, the series' pilot began production in Los Angeles, California. Principal photography for the rest of the first season took place from spring through fall of 2017 in the Chatsworth area of Los Angeles. Locations utilized for filming included the Rancho San Antonio which is being used to portray Westerburg High School.
Release
Marketing On August 28, 2017, the Paramount Network released a teaser trailer for the series alongside a series of posters, each depicting a different character. On February 18, 2018, the first official trailer for the series was released. Beginning on February 12, 2018, a series of promotional posters, each depicting a different character, were released. On October 23, 2018, a clip from the series featuring Selma Blair as her character Jade was released. A day later, a second clip was released and a day after that a third clip was released as well.
Premiere