This heartwarming and fuzzy teen drama has that sweetness and charm that every longing heart won’t resist being fed with.
NETFLIX | Seesaw Films
Actors: Kit Connor, Joe Locke, William Gao, Yasmin Finney, Corrina Brown, Kizzy Edgel, Tobie Donovan, Jenny Walser, Sebastian Croft, Cormac Hyde-Corin, Rhea Norwood, Fisayo Akinade, Chetna Pandya, Stephen Fry, Olive Colman
Genre: Romance, coming-of-age
Premise: Set in all-boys grammar school, the story follows two teenage boys, as they navigate their sexuality and the feeling of being in love.
Running Time: 25-30 minutes
Director: Euros Lyn
Where to watch: Netflix
Why You Should See It:
Watching this tender and gentle Netflix drama, in an age of Elite, Young Royals, and Euphoria, maybe a bit alienating, but it might be the best alienating feeling that you need right now. The tension in this drama does not emanate from topics radiating around drugs and violence, but from little, sometimes cutesy, teenage revolts, that naturally come along with growing up. Sure, Heartstopper won’t make your heart stop, but it is one to leave a liberating sweetness, that may take generations to fade.
Based on Alice Oseman’s smash graphic novel of the same name, Heartstopper is practically a warm tight embrace that caresses the very soul. It follows a teenage boy, Charlie Spring (Joe Locke), who recently came out as gay, which made him a subject of bullying at Truman Grammar High School. Charlie, however, with the help of his supportive best friends, somewhat escaped the troubles of being himself. His biggest conundrum now is not being able to tell the world he has a boyfriend, although his secret rendezvouses with Ben Hope (Sebastian Croft) at the library, seem enough to feed his longing queer heart.
Once he finds out that Ben has been cheating on him with a girl, Charlie finally summons the courage to break away. But as he nurses his fresh heartache, he develops an attraction for the school’s rugby star player, Nick Nelson (Kit Connor), who may be the straightest of good-looking boys he is not supposed to fall for. One day, Nick invites him to join the school’s rugby team.
As he takes advantage of his being the fastest sprinter in Truman to remain inside Nick’s circle of campus crushes, he also races against his feelings for Nick. But as Nick himself, offers glittering hints of that spark between them, both the boys embark not just on a journey of young romance, but most importantly, on that emancipating sense of self-discovery.
Fully drenched in sweet tenderness and fuzzy feeling, Heartstopper can be no doubt anybody’s a happy pill. While it is largely about young people’s romantic awakening and self-discovery, its charm can pretty much infect the entire viewing demographic with its universal appeal. There is also a satisfying effort to shed light upon issues concerning transgenders and lesbian romance, and the way parents in the show are being too nice and supportive of their children’s identities, makes this heartwarming ‘heart-stopper’ truly a therapeutic charmer.
The entire 8-episode season of Heartstopper can now be streamed on Netflix. Watch the official full trailer, below: