TV Show Review: Heartstopper
By: ALLEGRA LAI ’26
“It’s hard to be confident when they all see me as a stereotypical gay boy who can’t do sports.” Heartstopper, adapted from a comic series by Alice Oseman (she/they), is a coming-of-age LGBTQ+ romance following main characters Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson as they navigate their relationship.
Charlie meets Nick in class on the first day. He is an openly gay boy who was subjected to immense bullying at school the year before, but has since settled into a supportive friend group with Tao Xu and Isaac Henderson, as well as a trans girl Elle Argent, who transferred to an all-girl’s school nearby. Charlie is sat with Nick in form room on the first day, and he slowly falls for him as his friends tease him for it. At a party, they kiss, which leads Nick to question his already wavering feelings about his own sexuality.
The TV show’s official mixtape features queer artists such as Girl in Red, with her song “Girls” playing in the background of the second episode. The lyrics “I know what I like/ No, this is not a phase/ Or a coming of age/ This will never change”, empower listeners to be true to their sexuality, reassuring them that homophobia and transphobia aren’t to be entertained.
The TV show has already gained much traction from the media, and it has been renewed for two more seasons covering the second and third books of the comic series, with filming well under way.
Heartstopper doesn’t shy away from showing viewers graphic comments that the LGBTQ+ community are often subject to, and the representation in the show is to be lauded. Tara and Darcy are in a queer relationship, while Elle is a trans woman. The show’s target demographic is ages 14+, which largely includes Gen-Z. By bringing these important characters to the screen, queer teens are more likely to feel seen. Furthermore, viewers of Heartstopper will hopefully become aware of these recurring social problems, homophobia and the lack of queer representation in the media.
An equally important part of the series is Nick figuring out his sexuality. Although he develops feelings for Charlie, he has only been in straight relationships previously, and therefore is questioning his sexuality. He does an extensive amount of research, including watching Youtube videos regarding the matter and googling “Am I Gay” quizzes. Although this may seem comical to some, the scenes of Nick alone on his laptop intrinsically capture his conflicting feelings. As the target audience is teens, many must feel that their personal experiences relate to that of Nick’s extremely.
Heartstopper also draws close attention to the homophobia Charlie and Tara receive as they officially come out of the closet. Charlie experienced severe bullying the year before when he came out, and he still has traumatic flashbacks of the homophobic comments he experienced. As Tara comes out on Instagram, she receives negative comments amongst the positive ones, which upsets her immensely. “I didn’t think that so many people would suddenly think I’m a completely different person,” she says tearfully. “I just want to live my life.” This raises awareness to the amount of negative backlash queer people face as they come out of the closet, provoking sympathy and understanding from the viewers.
As a diverse school community, Heartstopper is a piece of media for all students. Heartstopper touches the heart and takes everyone on an emotional journey, while also raising awareness on the homophobia and various obstacles that the LGBTQ+ community faces on a daily basis. With a cool color palette and iconic animations taken from Oseman’s comics, Heartstopper is the epitome of a comfort show to watch anytime, anywhere.
