Paramount's 'Heathers' TV Series Reboot Postponed Out Of Respect For The Florida School Shooting Victims
Paramount Network is delaying the airing of the Heathers reboot out of respect for the recent victims of the Parkland, Florida school shooting.
'Heathers' Gets Postponed
The network released a statement on Wednesday, Feb. 28 confirming their decision to postpone the premiere of the much-awaited retelling of the satirical comedy after the Parkland shooting that left 17 dead and more injured.
"While we stand firmly behind the show, in light of the recent tragic events in Florida and out of respect for the victims, their families and loved ones, we feel the right thing to do is delay the premiere until later this year," the network's official statement reads.
Like the 1988 original film of the same name, the Heathers television series is expected to tackle many difficult subjects through the lens of high school students. Some of the issues include race, socio-economic status, and gun violence.
New Take On The 'Heathers'
Based on an '80s cult favorite starring Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, and Shannen Doherty, the new reimagining of Heathers features a youthful cast that offers a new look to the original story.
The three Heathers (Jasmine Mathews, Brendan Scannell, and Melanie Field) are the fearsome trio of popular kids, while Veronica and J.D. (Grace Victoria Cox and James Scully) are fellow high school students. Selma Blair also stars, while Doherty is set to be a guest in the pilot episode.
The original film is a cult classic, but critics aren't loving the reboot yet. A handful of reviews have already been released with most underwhelmed by the supposedly modern take on the Mean Girls of the '80s.
Refinery29 calls the show "an insult to teens in 2018," while The Hollywood Reporter chimes in saying the television show "lacks the movie's wit and wastes time with a boring pair of leads."
For now, fans will have to wait to see the new-look of Heathers for themselves. While Heathers was originally set to begin airtime on March 7, no updated release date has been confirmed.
Television Delays
The Paramount Network series is only one of multiple television series that opted out of their original airing dates out of respect of real-world tragedies.
USA Network postponed the release of Shooter twice in light of violence in the United States. The same network delayed the season one finale of another show Mr. Robot after the on-air shooting of a television reporter in Virginia.
Just last year, Netflix's The Punisher pulled out of its scheduled appearance at the New York City Comic-Con following the Las Vegas attack that resulted in 58 deaths.
