Show about high school violence to air after delay due to school shootings

A reboot of the young adult drama “Heathers,” which addresses suicide and violence in high schools, will air on the Paramount Network after the show’s premiere was pulled following multiple school shootings.

Showrunners told The Hollywood Reporter that a version of the series will premiere on Oct. 25, nearly five months after it was scrapped. Network executives decided to delay the show’s premier, citing concerns with some of the show’s content in the wake of multiple school shootings.

{mosads}Originally planned to include 10 episodes, the season will now feature nine episodes with some controversial scenes removed, according to THR.

“I am beyond excited that American audiences will finally get to see Heathers. 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,” showrunner Jason Micallef told THR.

 Keith Cox, the network’s president of development and production, told THR in June that the network chose to cancel the show’s premiere because of its depiction of gun violence at a high school.

“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,” Cox said at the time.

“The combination of a high school show with these very dark moments didn’t feel right,” he added.

Sources told THR that the network, which rebranded itself from Spike TV last year, initially sought a second home for the show after its March 7 premiere was canceled, but were unable to find a buyer for the show’s controversial subject matter.

The network settled on editing the episodes and rescheduling the premiere following unsuccessful attempts to sell the show as it was.

“We didn’t want to butcher the show or make it something that it’s not, which isn’t fair to the writers, producers and cast,” Cox said in June.

The show will be available on Paramount’s websites and Viacom-owned streaming services starting Oct. 22.