https://www.instagram.com/p/BfGW1CrnfUO/?taken-by=heathers
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfJI1ZOnCa6/?taken-by=heathers
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfKOVkZHW7E/?taken-by=heathers
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfMBAmUHiwJ/?taken-by=heathers
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfOlXrdHhIn/?taken-by=heathers
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfb8h1EHVg6/?taken-by=heathers
One evening during my junior year of high school, I was being generally mopey because I felt like I had no friends (untrue) because nobody was free to hang out (pure coincidence). As I cried on my bed about how inconsiderate everyone was and how nobody could be bothered to invite me anywhere and how I couldn’t wait to get out of my tiny hometown and go to college somewhere fun, my dad comforted me and told me to put on a movie. “I’ve got one for you,” he said.
That night was the first time I watched Heathers and to this day, it is one of my favorite films. When introducing this 80’s cult classic to my friends, I describe it as “Mean Girls with murder”; this chick flick quickly becomes a dark comedy when protagonist Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) and her mysterious love interest (Christian Slater) begin to murder the bitchy, popular girls–all named Heather–who rule the school.
YouTube/HLN
It takes a certain kind of person to appreciate Heathers, but the movie has a dedicated fan base even 30 years after its initial release. Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy adapted the story into a rock musical that was initially performed in California and moved to Off-Broadway stages in 2014. (Shoutout to my fellow students at Tulane University who are putting on the show this upcoming fall!) I was pumped to learn recently that the Paramount Network had picked up a Heathers reboot for television. It would be so very.
So imagine my disappointment when I learned that Paramount has decided not to move forward with the show. My dreams of binge-watching a Heathers TV adaptation are now as dead as Heather Chandler.
However, the reasoning behind the cancelation makes complete sense: the network is concerned that yet another show about high school murder may inspire distraught teenagers to commit violence in real American high schools.
With the United States averaging about one school shooting each week this year so far, gun violence is a relevant point of concern. After 17 people were killed by a 19-year-old former student in Parkland, Florida in February, the show’s release date was pushed from March 7 to July 10. Paramount did this in order to respect the victims of the Parkland shooting and their families, but a statement from the network said that Heathers “takes creative risks in dealing with many of society’s most challenging subjects ranging from personal identity to race and socio-economic status to gun violence” and that they fully intended to continue the production of the show.
However, the Paramount Network has ultimately decided that this show is too risky to release. Keith Cox, the network’s president of development and production, explained this choice:
“This is a high school show, we’re blowing up the school, there are guns in the school, it’s a satire and there are moments of teachers having guns. It’s hitting on so many hot topics. This company can’t be speaking out of both sides of its mouth, saying the youth movement is important for us and we’ve done all these wonderful things to support that and at the same time, we’re putting on a show that we’re not comfortable with … The combination of a high school show with these very dark moments didn’t feel right.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYTnYLtnrvB/?taken-by=heathers
Paramount will attempt to help Heathers find a new home, but it seems unlikely that the show will be picked up anytime soon. I personally have mixed feelings about the cancellation. The media does have a strong influence over its viewers–most of whom, for this show, would be teenagers or college students–and it could be extremely problematic to glorify or glamorize teen violence. If not releasing this show is genuinely going to prevent people from dying, then Paramount is making the correct decision.
However, my question then becomes “Where do networks draw the line on what can and cannot be released?” In a country where freedom of speech is so highly valued, who gets to decide what is censored and what is shown? Heathers may be a satire, but it has the potential to inspire some important discussions about bullying and gun violence, among other topics. Hiding it isn’t going to make those things go away.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYTnxAonM_R/?taken-by=heathers
I have conducted no research of my own about the impact of controversial shows on young minds so I do not feel informed enough to tell you whether Paramount made the correct decision, but where the line is drawn is an interesting point to consider. For now, I respect Paramount’s choice, but I will still continue to throw the original Heathers into the mix on movie nights.
