It was the pretty teenage girls who ruled the roost and called the shots at Westerburg High in Michael Lehmann’s 1988 cult feature film, but in Paramount Network’s new series from Jason Micallef, it’s intentionally turned on its head.
Talking about the series theme, Brendan Scannell who plays Heath Duke, a gay Heather, said “The idea is that power corrupts and that everyone is at their core an asshole and concerned for themselves. In the movie three beautiful women where wrecking havoc on the school; that was new and hadn’t been done before. Our modern retelling centers around marginalized communities — a plus-size, a Black girl and a queer — trashing everyone around them.”
This new trio live on their self confidence, and have an unapologetic way of living. Melanie Field’s Melanie Chandler, the plus-size Heather, has built a reputation as a social media celebrity.
While it has been reported that Selma Blair will have a recurring role as Jade, a menthol-smoking stripper who is the mother of Heath Duke aka Heather Duke who Shannen Doherty originally played in the movie. As has been reported Doherty will be making an appearance on the show.
This morning Micallef refused to spill any details on Doherty’s three-episode arc and who she’ll specifically play other than “her face will be the very first scene in the first episode.”
Heathers premieres on Paramount Network on March 7 at 10PM ET/PT.