A True Heartstopper.

The book-turned-to-tv series “Heartstopper” gives a slice in the life of teenagers navigating their social, emotional, and sexual identities. This beloved series is widely appreciated for being true to life for many queer adolescents.

The series shows multiple relationships within the growing friend group of Charlie Spring. He then finds himself in a close friendship with Nick Nelson. As the bond between the two starts to grow, they begin to develop feelings for each other. Charlie, being openly gay, recognizes these feelings, but tries to hide them. Nick, on the other hand, doesn’t know what these feelings are. He has never felt them with any other “friend” he has. During a party of one of Nick’s friends, the pair race into a room together. As they talk while sitting next to each other, they feel a certain shift in the mood. At this point, Nick can’t help but let it slip that he has feelings for Charlie. In this second of clarity, Nick and Charlie understand that their sentiments are mutual. The beautiful relationship only grows from here, as Nick figures out his sexuality, and learns that he doesn’t owe anyone the knowledge of his orientation. 

There are many ups and downs of other connections between characters, like the relationships between Tara and Darcy, Tao and Elle, and even the realization of asexuality with the character Isaac. It illustrates awkwardness, and also the curiosity of young teens, while they try to explore their ambiguous lives.

Why is this series so popular you may ask? Well, It all started on the platform called Webtoon, where author Alice Oseman uploaded the series. This story took off, easily surpassing 1 million readers. Heartstopper then went into book form, where it sold more than 8 million copies. Even after this, Heartstopper wasn’t finished. Netflix approved the filming of the Heartstopper series, and once finished, it became number one with its first series release, then again when its second series came out.

Though this story certainly has some tense moments, the overall message it portrays is hope. The hope for a changing society where you don’t have to worry about if someone looks at you differently. Where you don’t have to act a certain way not to have heads turn to you in disgust. Where anywhere you go, people will accept you for being you. 

-Lucas T.