The Netflix Romantic Comedy Is The Most Realistic Look At LGBTQ Relationships

Heartstopper delves not only into gay relationships but the LGBTQ community as a whole. However, it’s not just LGBTQ relationships, but the struggle of learning who you are and how to grow in high school as a member of the community.

While Heartstoppper is an overall happy story about finding the perfect person, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine. There are the struggles of managing friendships and love, how much verbal abuse you’ll take for loving the person you love, and how to tell the world who you are when you don’t even know the answer yourself.

Heartstopper follows two main characters, Nick and Charlie. Charlie is openly gay and has been bullied for it since someone shared the information with the rest of the school. His friends, whether a part of the LGBTQ community or just allies, are doing the best they can to protect him while trying to figure out themselves as well.

Nick is a standard sporty kid, surrounded by friends who aren’t entirely supportive of the LGBTQ community. However, Nick starts to discover that he may no longer be an outsider to the community. Not only does he have to navigate high school and his plans for the future, but he has to take a deep look at himself and see who is really under the surface.

Though these are the main two characters, there are other characters full of depth and their own problems to make the story feel exactly like modern high school. Everyone is working to support their friends while trying to figure out life after they graduation.

The cast of Heartstopper is full of some amazing actors. One of the main characters, Nick Nelson, is played by Kit Connor. They’re also known for their roles as a young Elton John in Rocketman, and the voice of Pan in His Dark Materials.

Joe Lock, playing the other main character Charlie, was a new actor, but he is now also a part of Marvel’s Agatha. Yasmin Finney plays Elle. Though this was her debut show, she’s now been picked up in other shows, including for the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who.

Based on the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, Heartstopper is a favorite among critics and audience members alike. Critics give the sow an average score of 98 percent. Meanwhile, the audience is a little more discerning with an average score of 96 percent.

The first two seasons of Heartstopper are available on Netflix. The first season was so popular that Netflix didn’t hesitate to renew the next two seasons simultaneously. While there is no official release date for the third season yet, the quick turnaround of the second gives people hope that fans will get to start watching season three sometime in 2024.