The Heathers TV reboot is somehow still motoring on despite the ultraviolent cultural backdrop of the Parkland shooting. The show’s launch had previously been delayed as of late February, given that Nikolas Cruz stormed Stoneman Douglas High School while killing 17 people with an AR-15. And anyone who’s seen the 1988 flick will likely remember feeling sick to their stomach while watching characters J.D. and (albeit unknowingly) Veronica Sawyer gun down a pair of jocks in a forest — and that was only the beginning of the mayhem.
Yet production has not halted on the show, and the Paramount Network has decided that it’s still (somehow) not a bad idea to forge ahead. Back when the postponement was announced, the network emphasized that this show is “a satirical comedy that takes creative risks in dealing with many of society’s most challenging subjects,” including gun violence. Producers also stated that they still “stand firmly behind the show,” although they felt it best to push back the release date — which has been newly updated to July 10.
As a black comedy, the film largely meant to satire the often-tidy and sweet resolution of teenage problems in Hollywood, but the bitingly satiric treatment of violence doesn’t exactly translate well in a climate full of accelerating bloodshed. The show’s first-season trailer, which you can see below, appears to mirror the film’s drano-cocktail scene, and there are explosions, fire aplenty, and other violence wrought by “domestic terrorist boyfriend” J.D. (with James Scully stepping into Christian Slater’s shoes). Original Heather Shannen Doherty is also seen pointing a gun at the camera.
See the official Instagram premiere date announcement post below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiPZ54Fnfvn/
(Via Variety)
