Netflix’s Heartstopper, based on Alice Oseman’s young adult webcomic series of the same name, has always been an endearing and wholesome tale about love and sexual identity. But now that Season 2 has taken a different approach by “letting the show grow up a little bit,” the series creator wonders if they’ll still receive the same positive response as Season 1.
The coming-of-age romantic drama received praise upon its release for incorporating a wholesome, queer-friendly teenage relationship. A big win for representation, the LGBTQ-centered television show was also lauded for including queer cast members. According to Oseman, Heartstopper is — for the most part — an adorable and pure story. However, the series also sparked a conversation about real-life issues.
“I guess everyone saw Heartstopper as being this completely wholesome, pure, adorable story, which in some ways it absolutely is, but in other ways, it explores real and serious issues, and even more so in season two,” Oseman said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
On Letting the Show Evolve and Mature
Since Hearstopper debuted on Netflix in 2022, the English author shared that it has been frequently compared to other teen series, including Euphoria — which, in retrospect, has a slightly darker tone. In Season 2, however, Oseman said that the creatives behind the show are allowing it to grow up a little bit.
“So, I’ll be interested to see if we get the same kind of response this time now that I do feel we are letting the show grow up a little bit and mature a little bit. And so, yeah, although we are not Euphoria, we are letting the show change and evolve, and that’s what I want to happen and also, there’s space for all different kinds of teen shows and I love that,” she added.
Heartstopper follows Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) and Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) as they navigate high school and young romance. It stars William Gao as Tao Xu, Yasmin Finney as Elle Argent, Corinna Brown as Tara Jones, Kizzy Edgell as Darcy Olsson, Tobie Donovan as Isaac Henderson, Jenny Walser as Tori Spring, Sebastian Croft as Ben Hope, and Rhea Norwood as Imogen Heaney.
The second season of Heartstopper is now available to stream on Netflix. You can watch the trailer below.