Heartstopper has been everywhere since its initial release. Netflix has brought Heartstopper to our screens, with the heartfelt and joyous story of two boys falling in love. A typical teen drama that focuses on Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor). Over the 8 episodes, we get to follow these two characters slowly falling in love, and it is a joy to watch.
This season is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Alice Oseman. Even fans are thrilled at how closely the episodes follow the novels. The whole season is an insightful and sweet look at the awkwardness and all the emotions that teens go through, and those who are discovering their sexuality. A well-written story that is really relatable and natural, thus making it an easy show to binge-watch.
We start off by meeting Charlie, at the beginning of a new school year. At the start of this year, he is unfortunately publicly outed as gay and then bullied by his classmates. Charlie is then selected to be sat next to Nick in one of his lessons. Nic is rightly described as a golden retriever but in human form. Quickly these two characters develop a really good friendship, even though Nick is portrayed as the stereotypical popular kid who also plays ruby.
From the beginning, we can see that there is a mutual attraction between Charlie and Nick. What this show does really well, shows the relatable dilemma Nick is going through as he discovers he is bisexual. Charlie is concerned that because of what has happened to him and how his other pupils feel about him may be causing Nick a lot of trouble.
Even though the drama and story of the budding romance between Charlie and Nick would have been more than enough. The cast of supporting characters brings a lot of joy as well and fits in nicely around the main story. This includes a lesbian couple who have recently started to date publicly at an all-girls school. While also Charlie's friends Tao (William Gao) and Elle (Yasmin Finney) who has recently come out as transgender after transferring to an all-girls school.
It's great how many different stories this show is able to tell about sexuality. All of the stories are told really well and performed incredibly. Heartstopper is all about understanding who you are, and it is shown at a time when our body goes through so many changes already, while also trying to work out who you are at the same time. The story is very relatable that anyone can relate to and feel very realistic about what school looks like now.
The cast is brilliant in this show, everyone has been cast really well. In addition to that, what makes this show so good, is the fact the cast act like teenagers as well, and nothing feels too forced either. Moments of drama often take place in the hallways in the school, which is a really common place for drama to happen in any school.
The chemistry between the whole cast works really well. It's great to watch these kids figure everything out and figure themselves out. You can tell that every detail has been thought about, and the romance between Charlie and Nick feels really real. This is truly a sincere and joyful show that gives off a lot of empathy for all its characters. With such a great response from its fans, it's no surprise that two more seasons of this show have already been ordered. We hope this high quality remains throughout all these newer seasons to come, as Season 1 was truly inspirational.
Performance | 4.8/5 |
Enjoyment | 5/5 |
Overall Rating | 4.9/5 |