Are you in need of a wholesome high school gay romance? Heartstopper has got you covered. This upcoming Netflix adaptation produced by See-Saw Films is based on a popular Webtoon comic by an English young adult fiction author Alice Oseman, that later became a series of graphic novels spanning four volumes to date. The story features two characters from her debut novel Solitaire, published when she was only nineteen. Dubbed as “The Catcher in the Rye for the digital age” by The Times, it had earned them comparisons with the author of the bestselling international phenomenon The Fault In Our Stars, John Green.
Oseman penned the Heartstopper script herself and was involved in the casting. The fans of the webcomic have been anxiously anticipating their favourite characters coming to life on screen since the series was first announced at the beginning of last year. It is directed by Euros Lyn, known for his work on Doctor Who, Sherlock, Black Mirror, and Daredevil. We have no doubt it will be nothing short of wonderfully heartstopping. Let’s take a look at all the details we have so far.
The Plot
Netflix
In an interview with SZW, Oseman describes the book’s plot as:
Charlie and Nick were already in a happy relationship when they first appeared in Solitaire as side characters. The author couldn’t help but ponder about their past and how they ended up together, which led her to an idea for her first webcomic series.
They both meet for the first time when they’re seated next to each other in a form class. Charlie helps Nick with his homework, and Nick convinces him to join his rugby team. During an altercation between Charlie and a boy named Ben, whom he has been seeing, Nick steps in to protect Charlie. Soon enough, they become really close. Charlie has experienced his share of homophobic bullying since he came out, while Nick is still coming to terms with his newfound interest in boys as he learns he might be bisexual. Eventually, they realize that they are truly meant for each other.
Oseman identifies as aromantic asexual, and they had been bringing their underrepresented perspective into the young adult literature notoriously saturated with love stories. She explained how she felt about focusing on romantic storytelling for a change:
The Cast
In the role of Charlie, we will see Joe Locke, who is completely new to the world of acting but, nevertheless, the best fit for this charming fictional character out of hundreds of candidates. On the other hand, his love interest Nick is portrayed by well-accomplished film star Kit Connor, who started acting at the age of eight. He was cast in a 2019 mystery drama Little Joe in the Elton John biopic Rocketman as his child self. He has also voiced Lara’s daemon Pantalaimon in the BBC series His Dark Materials, based on the popular children’s fantasy trilogy by Philip Pullman, which will be coming back for its last season later this year.
The egocentric schoolmate Ben, who was leading Charlie on while he secretly dated a girl, is played by Sebastian Croft, who is best known for the role of young Ned Stark in Game of Thrones flashback scenes and who also appeared in Doom Patrol and Penny Dreadful. Jenny Walser is another new actor, and she plays the role of Tori, Charlie’s older sister, who is also the protagonist and narrator in Solitaire. The adult part of the cast includes The Girl With All The Gifts and Banana actor Fisayo Akinade, The Batman’s lead detective Joseph Balderrama, and Chetna Pandya, known for her parts in The Aliens and Life Of Duty.
Along with Locke, there are a few more promising talents without prior acting experience, like Cormac Hyde-Corrin, Yasmin Finney, William Gao, and Rhea Norwood. Oseman has nothing but words of praise for the novices in the cast:
Release Date
Heartstopper will have eight 30-minute long episodes, and it is set to premiere on Netflix on April 22, 2022. The official trailer is now available. It does not seem to be classed as limited series, which means that depending on its success, season two may still be confirmed later. Fingers crossed.
