Heartstopper is a British romantic comedy series adapted from the graphic novel series by Alice Oseman that streams on Netflix. Oseman herself wrote the series adaption, and it premiered on the streaming platform on April 22, 2022.
Heartstopper has eight episodes in its first season. Netflix announced in May 2022 that the series got renewed for two more seasons.
Cast
The cast includes Joe Locke as Charlie Spring, Kit Connor as Nick Nelson, William Gao as Tao Xu, Yasmin Finner as Elle Argent, and Corinna Brown as Tara Jones.
Other principal cast members include Kizzy Edgell as Darcy Olson, Tobie Donovan as Isaac Henderson, Jenny Walson as Tori Spring, Sebastian Croft as Ben Hope, and Cormac Hyde-Corrin as Harry Greene.
Rhea Norwood as Imogen Heaney, Fisayo Akinade as Mr. Ajayi, Chetna Pandya as Coach Singh, and Olivia Colman as Sarah Nelson complete the principal cast.
Araloyin Oshunremi, Evan Ovenell, Ashwin Viswanath, Georgina Rich, Joseph Balderrama, Momo Yeung, and Alan Turkington comprise the show’s recurring cast.
Premise
The story of Heartstopper revolves around the lives of two teenagers, Nick and Charlie, who study at an all-boys school.
Nick and Charlie are opposites of each other in terms of personality. Nick is a cheerful and soft-hearted rugby player, while Charlie is openly gay and is an absolute overthinker.
Their friendship begins when they have to sit next to each other during class. Being a homosexual and an overthinker, Charlie starts to think more of this friendship, although he also believes that he has no chance that Nick would reciprocate his feelings.
Surprisingly, Nick also starts developing feelings for Charlie. The series showcases all the small stories that lead to the two realizing their love for each other.
The series also explores the happenings in the lives of their friends- Tao, Elle, Tara, and Darcy.
In a gist, the story of Heartstopper is all about friendship, loyalty, love, and mental illness.
Making
Netflix purchased the rights from See-Saw Films in 2021 and appointed Euros Lyn as the series director.
The filming of Heartstopper took place from April to June 2021, and the makers curated a soundtrack consisting of existing and original songs. Adiescar Chase created the original score for the series.
The makers planned color grading and cinematographic styles to give the series an atmospheric elegance. They also used traditional animation adapted from the source material to amplify the atmospheric elegance.
Reception
Upon its release on April 22, 2002, Heartstopper received critical acclaim.
Heartstopper garnered praise for its pacing and tone. Its representation of the LGBTQ community also received acclaim from critics.
The series received instant popularity with the audience and entered the top 10 English series list on Netflix within two days of its release.
This high popularity of Heartstopper also promoted the popularity of the graphic novel series and the songs featured in the episodes.
Accolades
The series’ success has prompted Heartstopper to receive nominations at several award shows.
The series received a nomination in the new drama category at the National Television Awards, while Kit Connor and Joe Locke got nominated in the rising star category.
The series is nominated for the best musical moment category at the MTV Movie and TV Awards 2022.