Netflix has given buzzy half-hour newcomer Heartstopper, from See-Saw Films, a two-season pickup. Multi-season renewals are rare at the streamer, and the one for Heartstopper is a testament to the coming-of-age romantic comedy-drama checking all the boxes as a Netflix success story.
The streamer famously bases its renewal decisions on analyzing shows’ cost vs. performance. Developed and produced out of the U.K., Heartstopper, which Alice Oseman adapted from her graphic novel, has been an OK performer, spending three weeks in Netflix’s weekly global Top 10 rankings of English-language series since its April 22 debut, peaking at No. 5. (It has reached the Netflix Top Ten list in 54 countries.)
But while it did not dominate Netflix’s Top 10 like Bridgerton or Ozark, the modestly-budgeted British series, featuring young up-and-coming lead cast as well as Olivia Colman as a guest star and Stephe Fry as voiceover, has had an outsized, lightning-in-a-bottle cultural impact.
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It is one of Netflix’s best-reviewed series with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes that also has drawn praise for its LGBTQ representation. The show also has ignited a social media conversation, topping Twitter trends for several weeks, catapulting leads Kit Connor and Joe Locke to top celebrity status with their Instagram followings exploding from just over 100K each before the series’ premiere to 3.4 million (Connor) and 2.5 million (Locke). On TikTok, #heartstopper has amassed over 4.3B views.
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The series’ influence has quickly gone beyond TV and social. Heartstopper has been dominating Billboard’s Top TV Song chart, and weekly US sales for the book the series is based on have shot up 1,700%. Volume 1 is currently the No.1 YA fiction book in the US and featured on the NYT bestseller list.
Creator Oseman returns as writer for Seasons 2 and 3. Their exact episode orders are still TBD. In the eight-episode Season 1, when gentle Charlie (Locke) and rugby-loving Nick (Connor) meet at secondary school, they quickly discover that their unlikely friendship is blossoming into an unexpected romance. Charlie, Nick and their circle of friends must navigate the ever-relatable journey of self discovery and acceptance, supporting each other as they learn to find their most authentic selves.
saw the whole season 1 in one sitting.then a few days later i saw the whole thing again. the leads are so adorable and the way they react to each other is so real and touching. the supporting cast is awesome and olivia coleman just breaks your heart, so get out the KLEENIX.wonderful direction and music. cant praise it enough. sometimes this ole world is a beautiful place.
What a beautiful story of love between a modern
Romeo and Julius and love between many amazing
friends and family members!
Realistic or not, I could care less.
We’ve all done the heavy soap opera thing of break
up, cheat, get back together ONLY to have
problems and barriers come about again to
negatively screw with our emotions!!
Heartstopper is a PERFECT escape into a world of
love, romance, respect between friends and
teachers and family – sticking up for LOVE and
sticking up for what is RIGHT and good.
EXACTLY the kind of ESCAPE we ALL COULD
to bring our hearts into a pure feeling of loving each
other as people, respecting each other, and
working together for GOOD, rather than fighting
each other for no reason.
I am SO HAPPY to know this story will CONTINUE
on into new seasons to bring such POSITIVE JOY
to ALL OF US around the World.
THANK YOU, Netflix !!!
love this show heartstopper
Soft and happy. This show nails to entertain with very likable characters and an amazing cast. The “I would like to be friends with them” feeling that few series brings to us. Yet we saw many of the elements before, it brings it together in a soft and positive way… And not everything needs to be overdramatic, there is place for both
As a 54 year old gay man, I have literally waited decades for a boy meets boy story with the rarest attributes found in any LGBTQ narrative: hope, the promise of what is possible, and a happy ending. Growing up and coming out in the 80s meant the stories afforded me when discovering my own coming of age sadly consisted of social isolation, religious fire and brimstone damnation, parents sundering their LGBT children, AIDS, and Death. Thank you for a different more optimistic narrative.
Replace 54 with 55 and this is word for word my story, as well. ❤️