A trio of newcomers has been cast as the titular mean-girl clique in TVLand’s reboot of dark teen comedy “Heathers.”
Melanie Field, Brendan Scannell and Jasmine Mathews will play Heather Chandler, Heather Duke and Heather McNamara, respectively.
Newcomers James Scully and Grace Victoria Cox were previously set to star in the series adaptation of the 1988 movie, stepping into the roles originally played by Christian Slater and Winona Ryder, respectively.
Directed by Michael Lehmann and written by Daniel Waters, the original film followed Veronica Sawyer (Ryder) as she struggled to deal with a group of high school mean girls, all named Heather. Set in the present day, the new adaptation will see its heroine, played by Cox, dealing with a very different but equally vicious group of Heathers.
The new group of Heathers are indeed very different from the original trio played by Shannen Doherty (Heather Duke), Lisanne Falk (Heather McNamera), Kim Walker (Heather Chandler). Heather Duke is now a male who identifies as genderqueer, and Heather McNamera is black and gay.
The new series is written by Jason Micallef (“Butter”), and Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi will executive produce for Lakeshore Entertainment. Leslye Headland (“Bachelorette”) is set to direct.
If picked up for multiple seasons, the new anthology series is expected to feature a different group of Heathers in each outing.
Fields is a Broadway actress with roles in “Wicked” and “Evita” and recently recurred on USA’s “The Tap.” Scannell is a comedian who has worked with brands like Funny or Die, while “Heathers” marks the first episodic TV booking for Mathews.