Netflix Renewing A Fan Favorite Show For A Second Season
Netflix has renewed Heartbreak High for a second season following season one's massive success.
This article is more than 2 years old
Netflix has renewed its breakout series, Heartbreak High for a second season. The news comes less than a month after the Australian teen drama became a global hit, amassing more than 42.6 million hours viewed in its first three weeks. Since then, the show has reached the platform’s Top 10 list in more than 43 countries. Produced by Fremantle Australia and NewBe, the cast and creators will reassemble in Sydney for preproduction and filming very soon.
The Netflix series is a reboot of Heartbreak High that aired in Australia and the U.K from 1994 to 1999. It was later syndicated in more than 70 countries and translated into multiple languages. Now, the first season of the new show struck a chord with young viewers and has been described as more ironic than the original.
It has also been hailed by The Guardian for being stylistically distinct, with an upbeat, lighthearted tone. The Netflix version of Heartbreak High is created by Hannah Carroll Chapman and follows the students and teachers of Hartley High as they navigate racial tensions in Australia, high school romances, and all sorts of teen angst. The first season chronicles a web of overlapping relationships which all face the test after the revelation of an “incest map” chalked onto a school wall, exposing the various sexual exploits among the students.
Netflix’s Heartbreak High stars Ayesha Madon as a brash working-class girl named Amerie Wadia who becomes a pariah at school. James Majoos stars as Darren Rivers, a queer and non-binary student, and Amerie’s only friend. Asher Yasbincek is featured as Harper McLean, a punk girl who has a falling out with Amerie. Chloe Hayden appears as Darren’s friend Quinni Gallagher-Jones.
Rounding out the cast of Netflix’s Heartbreak High is Thomas Weatherall as Malakai Mitchell, Will McDonald as Douglas “Ca$h” Piggott, Joshua Heuston as Dustin “Dusty” Reid, Gemma Chua-Tran as Sasha So, Bryn Chapman-Parish as Spencer “Spider” White, Sherry-Lee Watson as Missy Beckett, and Brodie Townsend as Anthony “Ant” Vaughn.
In a major coup for Netflix, Scott Major stars as Darren’s father Peter Rivers, reprising his role from the 1994 Heartbreak High series. Rachel House appears as Principal Stacy “Woodsy” Woods – a performatively woke school principal at Hartley High. While Chika Ikogwe stars as the school’s English teacher Josephine “Jojo” Obah.
Speaking about the success of the Netflix series, Heartbreak High‘s producer Carly Heaton told The Hollywood Reporter she had to step away from the internet for a few days, because there was just so much feedback coming in. “This is the first time an Australian scripted show could go out on a platform globally like this,” she explained. “And it’s all been phenomenal.”
She added that Netflix kept warning the team behind Heartbreak High, but they still weren’t prepared for the success. Heaton said random kids were finding her number and email address to reach out and tell her how much they love the show. While she admitted the experience has been a little overwhelming, it’s been so in the most delightful of ways.
