The 'Heathers' TV Reboot WILL Air But Without The "Controversial" Finale Episode

5 October 2018, 20:35

By Katie Louise Smith

The show has been re-edited and the entire last episode of the series will not be shown on TV.

It looks like the Heathers TV reboot will make it to our screens after all - but without it's final episode which has been deemed "too controversial" for TV.

The Paramount TV series, which is based on the *incredibly violent* yet iconic 1988 movie starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, was originally scheduled to air in March 2018. It was later delayed following the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas school in Parkland, FL because of the sheer amount of high school violence depicted in the show.

Following a four month delay, the show was eventually 'cancelled' by Viacom who decided it would not air the 10-episode series and would scrap plans for the second season, which had already been written. However, it now looks like the show WILL go ahead as planned. But there's one catch... the entire last episode of the series has been removed.

So, what happens in the final episode that has been removed from the series?

It's been reported that the final two episodes were combined to create a cliffhanger ending. Another scene involving one of the teachers brandishing a gun was also changed.

If you've ever watched the original Heathers movie, you'll know that the ending involves JD (that's Slater's character) attempting to blow up the entire school on a suicide mission. In an attempt to stop him, Veronica (Ryder) holds him at gun point. At the end of the film, JD blows himself up outside the school doors as Veronica watches on.

It was pretty contro back in '88 but for obvious reasons, it's been deemed far too controversial and insensitive to air today, given the tragic shooting and attacks that are continuing to happen in high schools and colleges (and workplaces) across the States.

Showrunner Jason Micallef addressed the removal of the episode in a statement: “Obviously, I wish fans could see the 10th episode but the producers and I felt strongly about not changing anything in it, and so, it’s been considered too controversial for U.S. audiences.”

The violence depicted in the show isn't the only controversial subject matter in the series. Before it even aired, the show was called out for it's damaging representation of minorities.

The "pitch black" satirical comedy (yeah, because we all know how that turned out with Netflix's Insatiable...) series tried to flip the stereotypes and tropes seen in the original movie (cis, white, privileged females) and diversify the Heathers clique. But in doing so, the minorities (a plus-sized model, a gender-queer teen, and a lesbian person of colour) that were placed in those roles were then seen as the villains of the show. Technically, the Heathers were never the real villains of the film but they're still pretty shitty people who bullied almost everyone. All of that topped off with two cool white people trying to kill them all? That ain't it!

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But, if you still wanna watch it... episodes will be available to stream beginning October 22 2018 on ParamountNetwork.com and the series will air over five nights starting on the Paramount Network on October 25.