Based on a series of graphic novels and web comics, Heartstopper is a British series centered around openly gay teenager Charlie Spring. He's falling for Nick Nelson, the rugby player he sits next to in class -- but the entire school knows Nick is as straight as they come. Obviously. Isn't he? With support from his friends (entangled in first romances of their own), Charlie tries to come to terms with his feelings.
You may not have seen them, but a number of LGBT reviewers have been praising Heartstopper as "the show I wish had existed when I was that age." I think that keeps being repeated because it's such a succinct and accurate way to sum up what's great about it. There is more queer representation in TV and movies these days... yet when it comes to teenagers, the vast majority of stories are still "how painful it is to come out." A particularly pervasive form of these stories includes the "jerky straight guy who gradually accepts that he's actually gay"; even an excellent show like Sex Education draws from that brackish well. (I was going to link to my review of Sex Education, only to find that I've apparently never blogged about that great show?! Another time...)
Heartstopper, in sharp contrast, is uplifting. It's not that the characters don't struggle or question. It's not that there are no bullies and no heartbreak. It's that the narrative focuses more on the warm and fuzzy feelings of budding love. There is confusion, but little anguish. Over the course of eight 30-minute episodes, I believe there's only one episode that ends on a true downer; the cliffhangers are about "what wonderful thing will happen next?" and not "how will they get out of this horrible situation?"
The secondary characters are excellent. This is a brilliantly written (and acted) show where strong characters are drawn sharply with just one or two great lines -- or even, at times, no dialogue at all. (How characters interact with their phones is a huge part of this show.) To give you a sense of how many great characters there are in Heartstopper: Olivia Colman -- yes, that Oscar-winning, amazing-in-everything Olivia Colman -- is in this show, and she's maybe my eighth favorite thing about it.
While I think it's the role of entertainment to, first and foremost, be entertaining, I think it's worth noting that Heartstopper feels to me like it meets this particular moment in the U.S. in an excellent way. This one show has L, G, B, and T representation, and it does it all in a way that absolutely destroys the bullshit argument that queerness is somehow an "inappropriate topic for children." Talking about LGBT people doesn't mean explicit talk about gay sex. Heartstopper is charting a different course from Sex Education or Love, Victor -- its characters are more innocent (though not chaste). Holding hands is a big deal, worthy of on-screen cartoon animation. A kiss is everything. Any child who has ever watched a Disney princess kiss her prince could watch this show.
Right now, it seems like people aren't talking about Netflix's shows as much as the fact that it doesn't seem to know when it has good shows. Heartstopper has not yet been renewed for a second season, and I'm trying to prep for either outcome here. The eight episodes that exist are wonderful, and conclude in a satisfying way. But also, there remain more volumes of the source material to adapt, and I would love to see another season. So this is me trying to push the streaming numbers the tiniest bit by encouraging anyone who sees this to watch. Heartstopper is an absolute grade A show.
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