Romantic LGBTQ Drama ‘Heartstopper’: Coming to Netflix in April 2022

The romantic LGBTQ drama 'Heartstopper' is coming to Netflix in April 2022.

Tigran Asatryan What's on Netflix Avatar

heartstopper season 1 lgbtq romantic drama netflix

Reinforcing its place as the leading destination of young adult entertainment, Netflix has concluded production on a new teen LGBTQ romantic drama series called Heartstopper. The new series will land on Netflix globally in April 2022 and here’s an updated guide to everything we know so far.

Based on the graphic novels by Alice Oseman, Heartstopper tells the story of two boys who meet at a British grammar school and develop feelings for each other. What follows is a beautiful and thoughtful story of love, life, and friendship while dealing with issues such as coming out and Charlie’s mental illness.

Heartstopper originally launched as a webcomic on Tumblr and Tapas where it became an instant hit leading to Oseman’s first novel Solitaire with the same characters. Since then, creator Alice Oseman has published three book volumes with the fourth to be released shortly.

 

Oseman also wrote the screenplay for the Netflix series.

Award-winning director Euros Lyn, known for his work on Sherlock, Doctor Who, Daredevil, and more will helm all eight episodes of the series and See-Saw films (Top of the Lake, State of Union) will produce it with Netflix.

heartstopper crew

See-Saw Films executive producer Patrick Walters commented:

“Heartstopper is a show that celebrates individuality, promotes acceptance and above all puts a smile on your face. This cast does exactly that, bringing heart, humour and complexity to their roles.”

Here’s everything else we know about Netflix’s Heartstopper:


When will Heartstopper be released on Netflix?

With the release of the official teaser, we can now confirm that Heartstopper arrives on Netflix on Friday, April 22nd, 2022.

All eight episodes will be available upon release. Each episode will have a runtime of 30 minutes.


What is the plot of Heartstopper?

heartstopper

Netflix’s Heartstopper series, based on the graphic novels by Alice Oseman, tells the story of two British teens, Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring, at an all-boys grammar school. Charlie, a high-strung, openly gay overthinker, and Nick, a cheerful, soft-hearted rugby player, one day are made to sit together in class.

Their friendship quickly becomes something more for openly gay Charlie, but he initially does not believe he has a chance with Nick. But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is more interested in Charlie than either of them realized. Heartstopper is about love, friendship, loyalty, and mental illness. It encompasses all the small stories of Nick and Charlie’s lives that together make something larger.

heartstopper season 1 lgbtq romantic drama netflix joe locke

In a Tweet in April 2021, Alice Oseman clarified that Aled will not be in Heartstopper but left open the door that we may see an adaptation of Radio Silence in the future. Oliver will also not appear in the series.


Who is cast in Heartstopper?

heartstopper cast 1

Heartstopper cast – Picture: See-Saw Films

Following a casting call that saw over ten thousand people audition, Kit Connor (Rocketman, His Dark Materials) was chosen to play Nick Nelson. Newcomer Joe Locke got the role of Charlie Spring. On the casting of Kit and Charlie, writer Alice Oseman said:

“They are both so talented, sweet, funny, and smart, and so perfect. It has been such fun getting to know them and welcoming them into the Heartstopper universe, and I can’t wait to see them bring the characters to life on screen. Nick and Charlie have existed as characters for almost a decade and are two of my most beloved characters. I was slightly apprehensive about the casting search, but I am so happy and excited that we’ve cast Kit and Joe.

We’ve found an incredibly talented group of young actors who are all super passionate about bringing this story to life. I’ve been able to spend lots of time with them to talk about the characters, their arcs and their importance to the story, and I know that each actor will shine.”

Director Euros Lyn added:

“I can’t imagine a more perfect pair than Kit and Joe to play Nick and Charlie and bring their joyous love story to live on screen.” 

Yasmin Finney (What if?), a 17-year-old British Black trans actor will play Elle Argent. Other cast includes William Gao, Corinna Brown, Kizzy Edgell, Cormac Hyde-Corrin, Tobie Donovan, Rhea Norwood and Game of Thrones actor Sebastian Croft.

On May 20th, Alice Oseman confirmed that Jenny Walser would be playing Tori Spring in Heartstopper saying “I knew we had to cast her from the moment she began her audition. I can’t wait for you to see her as Tori!!”.

Alice Oseman on Twitter has also provided plenty of casting updates throughout the course of production and beyond.

In November 2021, it was revealed Fisayo Akinade would play Mr. Ajayi, Chetna Pandya will play Coach Singh, and Alan Turkington will be playing Mr. Lange.


What is the production status of Heartstopper?

Production for Netflix’s Heartstopper started in late April 2021 and continued until June 2021. The entire series was shot in England.

heartstopper season 1 lgbtq romantic drama netflix yasmin finney


Are you looking forward to Heartstopper on Netflix? Let us know in the comments.

Written by

Tigran is our resident previews writer. He works on collecting everything known about upcoming Netflix Original projects and also is editor-in-chief of Redanian Intelligence. Resides in France.

 Poster

Official Netflix Synopsis: "Teens Charlie and Nick discover their unlikely friendship might be something more as they navigate school and young love in this coming-of-age series."


Rating: TV-14
Language: English
Genre: Drama, Romance
Cast: Joe Locke, Kit Connor, William Gao
Season Additions:
  • - Season 2 was added to Netflix on August 3rd, 2023
  • - Season 1 was added to Netflix on April 22nd, 2022
View Viewing Statistics