Graphic by Rose Cohen ’22.
By Rose Cohen ’22
Arts & Entertainment Editor
If you are looking for a heartfelt LGBTQ+ teen drama full of longing glances, moments of yearning and killer chemistry between its two leads, you might want to watch “Heartstopper,” a new Netflix original series about two students attending a British all-boys secondary school. While the romantic relationship that unfolds between the main characters may be unsurprising, viewers seeking shows that explore LGBTQ+ issues should not be bothered by this fact since there are only a number of shows on television featuring this type of queer relationship — one defined by innocence and love.
Based on the Webtoon by English author and artist Alice Oseman, “Heartstopper” focuses on the blossoming romance between the empathetic, anxious Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and rugby king Nick Nelson (Kit Connor). In the first episode, which premiered on April 22, the two meet in secondary school when a teacher assigns the unlikely pair to sit next to each other. From their first encounter, Charlie and Nick form a strong bond, attending parties together, sending comforting messages to one another and meeting each other’s families.
The type of love that unfolds between Charlie and Nick is predictable — early on in the series, Charlie, who is openly gay, develops a crush on Nick, who has never questioned his identity as a heterosexual man. When the pair begin spending more time together, Nick must grapple with his sexuality and come to terms with the nature of his feelings for Charlie. Some of the show’s best moments arrive as Nick struggles to figure out what Charlie means to him. When the two communicate via Instagram messaging, for example, and Nick offers Charlie a chance to talk about a difficult relationship in his life, it’s obvious how significant Charlie is to Nick. The amount of undeniable chemistry between Locke and Connor plays a major role in how realistic the relationship between Charlie and Nick seems. In one scene, an emotional Nick opens up his laptop and hesitatingly types “Am i gay?” into his Google search bar. In her review of the show for Cosmopolitan, Editorial Assistant and Junior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer Emily Gulla focused on the importance of this sequence, writing, “Reacting to the series online, fans have been busy discussing the moment, pointing out how relatable the Google search and subsequent ‘Am I gay?’ quizzes available online are for queer people, especially teens.”
While Charlie and Nick are the key players in “Heartstopper,” it would be remiss to not mention the secondary characters who are friends with the two main teenagers. There’s Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell), a lesbian couple who attend an all-girls school and help the show provide a more inclusive portrayal of what LGBTQ+ relationships can look like. There’s also Elle (Yasmin Finney), who allows the show to explore what it means to be a transgender person of color during teenagehood.
Though the show contains few surprises in its first season, the relationship between Nick and Charlie and the story arcs of the supporting characters make “Heartstopper” one to watch.