Review: Heartstopper (Netflix Series)

While I was not an avid reader of the web comic Heartstopper as a teen, the news that Netflix were developing a series was still extremely exciting.

The series did not disappoint.

Heartstopper centres around Nick and Charlie, two students at an all-boys secondary school who fall in love. The plot follows their blossoming relationship and provides a delightfully romantic representation of queer love. It was refreshing to watch a series where queer characters are given the space to experience stereotypical romance. More often than not, rom-com-like moments are overlooked in favour of angst.

Despite this, Heartstopper, as in the web comic, still addresses more challenging issues including homophobia, bullying and mental health. The series addressed these issues without downplaying their seriousness or relying on harmful stereotypes which was reassuring given the presentation of mental health in older Netflix shows.

I really enjoyed the depiction of the art room as a safe space for Charlie - having spent many lunchtimes as a teen hiding in the art room at my school, I felt very seen then.

Actually, there was very little that I didn't enjoy about this series. It's a cute queer romance that doesn't just ignore more challenging issues in favour of solely presenting something lighthearted. It shows both extremely well.

The one thing that I have found is that I have a sadness for my younger self having watched this. As a queer young adult from a small West-Midlands town, LGBTQ+ representation was hard to come by. I invested several hours, and my GCSE art coursework, into the character Bernie Wolfe from Holby City. I didn't meet an openly queer adult until I was seventeen. Had this representation been available when I was younger, I think I would have had more confidence in my identity sooner. The series has resonated with others in the queer community - I have a friend who now has the leaves from the series tattooed on his arm.

I'm glad that teenagers today have this mainstream representation, it gives me hope in a time when governmental institutions are actively harming LGBTQ+ rights.

Personally, I really enjoyed how elements of the web comic were incorporated into the series, especially the sparks when Nick held his hand near Charlie's in one of the earliest episodes.

To summarise:

Heartstopper is a brilliant, adorable series, with queer representation in mainstream media that we needed when we were younger.