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Shannen Doherty Confirms She Has a Role in the New ‘Heathers’

What’s your damage? A few years before Shannen Doherty was Brenda Walsh on Beverly Hills, 90210 she was another mean girl, Heather Duke, who was “resisting the urge to purge” in 1988’s dark comedy Heathers.

On November 22, Doherty announced through an Instagram post that she will also have a role in TV Land’s pilot Heathers, a revival of the beloved cult classic film.

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Doherty, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, captioned the picture, “sneak peek from the #Heathers set. . . . jealous much?” In the photo, the veteran actress, 45, is transformed back into “Heather Number 2” wearing an ’80s hair–styled wig with an iconic red Scrunchie in her hair. (In the original, that Scrunchie held the significance of a queen’s crown.)  The rep for the reboot tells Us that there’s no confirmation on her exact role in the cult classic reboot, but she will play “a pivotal, unnamed character.”

Sneak peek from the #Heathers set….. jealous much? @tvland

A post shared by ShannenDoherty (@theshando) on

The original film followed Veronica (Winona Ryder, in a role that made her a household name) and her friend J.D. (Christian Slater, ditto) and their ultimate takedown of their high school’s vicious social order and a clique of three popular girls named Heather. (Spoiler alert to Heathers virgins: said takedown involves murder staged to look like suicides. We told you it was dark!)

Shannen Doherty arrives at American Cancer Society's Giants of Science Los Angeles Gala on November 5, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.
Shannen Doherty arrives at the American Cancer Society’s Giants of Science Los Angeles Gala on Nov. 5, 2016. Vivien Killilea/WireImage

The rep also confirms TV Land’s version is loosely based on the film, but will take place in the present day and have a modern take on gender roles. Doherty’s Heather Duke will be played by a man, Brendan Scannell, who identifies as gender-queer and whose real name is Heath.

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This nostalgic news also happily confirms that Doherty, who has been battling cancer since February 2015, is back to work! Doherty’s role in the new series will be the second time she has had an appearance in a reboot. In 2008, she played California cool girl Brenda Walsh in a 7-episode arc in CW’s reboot of Beverly Hills, 90210.

Despite it all, Doherty’s battle with breast cancer continues. Since her 2015 diagnosis, the actress has been sharing her journey to recovery on Instagram. On November 18, the actress posted a black-and-white photo of herself after a CT scan and used the hashtags #cancerslayer, #warrior, #fightlikeagirl and #blessed.

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