You thought the original Heathers had mean girls? Just wait! Paramount Network released the a NSFW trailer for the adaptation of the 1988 cult comedy on Thursday, January 18, and the claws are really coming out.
The NSFW video provides the first glance at Shannen Doherty’s return – and yes, she’s still wearing the red bow. She’s also carrying a gun! “Whatever you do, make sure it matters,” the actress says.
Series creator Jason Micallef has kept very quiet about what role Doherty will be taking on in the dark reboot, but did confirm she’ll be in three episodes. “She is in the very first scene of the very first episode. That’s all I got for you,” he told reporters at the 2018 Television Critics Association’s Winter Press Tour on Monday, January 15.
In November 2016, Doherty shared the first photo from set, writing, “Jealous much?”
The show will put a fresh spin on the high school classic, Micallef noted. “It’s 2018, it’s not 1988. No one’s going to want to watch a girl for 10 episodes follow a guy around, murder people and then whine about it,” he said. However, original film fans should keep a keen eye out. “This show is like a love letter to the original movie. There’s so many little Easter eggs in each episode, even little things hidden in the set,” he added.
Veronica Sawyer is still the lead and will be played by Grace Victoria Cox. Heather Chandler (played by Melanie Field) is the “unconventional leader,” Heather Duke (played by Brendan Scannell) is the No. 1 sidekick and Heather McNamara (played by Jasmine Mathews) is the nicest Heather but is harboring a dark secret. Selma Blair also appears in the new trailer as an entirely new character.
Scannell pointed out that the show will change out the “three beautiful white women” from the film and plugging in something completely different: a plus-size leader, a black lesbian and a gay male. “[In] our sort-of modern retelling we’ve got … these communities that still face discrimination,” Scannell said. “But in our show [they] are turning that on its head and using the internet and using the power of pure self-confidence to trash everybody around them.”
The series is set to be a 10-episode anthology, with each future season to be set at a different school.
Heathers premieres on Paramount Network on Wednesday, March 7, at 10 p.m. ET.
