I saw this half hour, British, coming-of-age rom com advertised to me a number of places over the past couple of weeks, but Heartstopper just looked like something a little too young for my taste. That was a stupid assumption and statement to make because I watch high school centered crap all the time! What really sealed the deal though was seeing how well the show was being received and then learning of the great Olivia Colman’s involvement.
Just today after finishing the eight-part first season, I learned that this show is based off a graphic novel of the same name. That’s pretty neat! Either way, the story follows the slow and eventual love story of Charlie and Nick. Charlie is a year ten student at an all boys school, who we learn was bullied pretty bad the year prior when it was found out he was gay. Things don’t seem to be that harsh for him at the start of the new school year, but he’s got a secret boyfriend who’s making him feel used and a little bad about himself. Almost immediately he meets year eleven and rugby star, Nick. I was so happy to learn that Nick was a nice guy straight away. He and Charlie strike up a friendship pretty quickly, and are virtually inseparable.
Obviously, Charlie’s got a crush on Nick and throughout most of the season you can see on Nick’s face trying to work out his own (clearly) romantic feelings for Charlie. Eventually, they do become boyfriends, but in secret, as Nick is still trying to pin down his own sexuality. That’s where a lot of the conflict in this series arises, because everyone is keeping some small secret. And communication people! I know that’s hard for teenagers, but come on! Still, I loved the dynamic between all the characters on this show. There was a ton of support overall, and really well fleshed out supporting characters. Obviously, conflict still shows up in the form of bullying, which just makes my heart hurt, but at least nowadays people are more willing to be themselves and stick up for themselves.
Aside from Nick and Charlie’s queer representation on the show, Charlie’s good friend Elle also represents the transgender community in a strong role. It was so nice to see her make friends at her new school pretty quickly. Really, the amount of queer representation in this show was really cool to see! And it was great to see it in such a positive light! Usually that kind of representation ends up with rather depressing endings. There was also a fair amount of diversity in this show, too! I think this show represents a solid standard for future representation. Again, what I also really liked about this show was how unwavering the relationships were. Friends and family offered support and unconditional love and that was just so nice to see. I know plenty of people who aren’t that lucky, but hopefully someday soon fiction can become reality for a lot of people still hiding who they really are to people they love.
Overall, this was a very quick and satisfying watch, and I was thrilled to see that this already got picked up for a second season. Obviously, there will be more to come for Nick and Charlie, but I hope even more time gets spent with Elle and Tao. They were seriously too cute! While Olivia Colman was the main reason I came, her involvement was brief but impactful. Really tickled to see her in stuff like this. Go watch it now if you haven’t already!