Nick walks through the hallways with an easy confidence but also a gentility that makes him a more-than-believable crush object for the susceptible Charlie. He can deliver both charm and anguish, sometimes simultaneously when he receives an Instagram DM from Charlie, his shy smiles are tinged with both excitement and melancholic confusion. ( Heartstopper’s cast are also actual teenagers, instead of actors in their 20s pretending to be high schoolers, which only underscores the characters’ earnest naivete.)Įach actor is perfectly cast, but Connor (who appeared in 2019’s Rocketman and voices Pantalaimon in HBO’s His Dark Materials) is particularly strong as Nick, the popular rugby player grappling with his burgeoning bisexuality. In a delightful nod to Heartstopper’s illustrated roots, animated flashes and flowers seem to dance between characters as they feel sudden flutters of the heart or see them reciprocated in someone else for the very first time. These kids are about 15 they’re still getting picked up by their parents from parties at night, but they’re starting to form relationships based on genuine love for one another. The show is less interested in its characters feeling gay feelings for one another than it is in them feeling feelings at all. It delights in building the friendship between Charlie and Nick, then seemingly envelops them in a protective cocoon as they start to feel something more than friendship. But what makes Heartstopper feel unique is its unabashed sentimentality.
There’s been a fair bit of pop culture following young queer characters lately, and coming out stories aren’t as rare as they once were.
(If this all doesn’t sound queer enough, Oscar-winning gay icon Olivia Colman shows up in a small, secret cameo as Nick’s mother, which made me think I was having a gay fever dream.)
Soon, Charlie falls for Nick (Kit Connor), an older and sportier boy, who seems like everything Charlie isn’t, but may have more in common with him than they first realize. He’s friends with Tao (William Gao) and the introverted Isaac (Tobie Donovan), though they all miss their friend Elle (Yasmin Finney), who moved to the local girls’ school after coming out as transgender. Based on a webcomic turned graphic novel by Alice Oseman, who also wrote the series, it centers on Charlie (Joe Locke), a sweet young teen who was outed the previous year but is now finding his way as the only openly gay kid at an English all-boys high school. It boasts an astonishing 100% Fresh rating from critics on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, where it was described as “an inclusive romance told with striking sensitivity” and “so effortlessly charming that viewers won’t dare skip a beat.” The teen rom-com was also the most-tweeted-about show over the weekend, according to Variety, and has exploded in popularity on TikTok. Almost immediately, it launched into the streaming giant’s top 10 most-watched shows. Heartstopper debuted last week and became an instant hit.