Netflix 's mega-hit Heartstopper has had viewers and critics swooning over its tender portrayal of a young gay romance.
Refreshingly sweet and shot with a real warmth and relatable realism, it’s no wonder the show has captured our imaginations - and hearts - in these more than troubled times.
With a dynamic script brought so ably to life by Heartstopper's two exciting, fresh-faced leads in Joe Locke (who plays Charlie Spring) and Kit Connor (Nick Nelson), the series has all the right ingredients to run and run.
The show ceased beating last month, but rather like a warm, fuzzy hug, it has left us wanting more.
A lot more!
So will there be a second season?
Occupying that much sought-after ground of being both a critical and commercial hit, Heartstopper is one of the hottest properties on a streaming platform right now. So rather like Netflix’s 2021 global smash Squid Game, rumoured to be getting a second series in 2023, the chances of Charlie and Nick hooking up again are more or less nailed on.
Aside from the obviousness of wanting to ride that wave of success for as long as possible, a second series is likely to happen as there is still so much source material from the original graphic novels to cover.
The LGBTQ+ coming-of-age story truly sang from the page, and has taken on a whole new dimension when brought to the screen, so it would make little sense not to explore this further.
The debut season we’ve just devoured centred on events in the first two Heartstopper graphic novels, penned by Alice Oseman.
There are currently two more volumes out there crammed with potential storylines for further seasons, with a fifth and final instalment set for release next year.
Heartstopper has remained incredibly faithful to the novels thus far, so a quick peek at the third volume could give us some pointers about where the series could head next.
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What can we expect?
The story picks up straight after Charlie and Nick become boyfriends, revolving around a school trip to Paris and introducing Nick’s older brother David, who frowns on Nick’s bisexuality.
Speaking to the NME Connor said: “For Nick, I think there’s a lot more exploration to be done in terms of his family. It’s known to fans of the comics that he has an older brother who’s homophobic. I think that would be a really interesting route to go down, but I think there’s loads of material to go and explore”.
Elsewhere in the series, Charlie’s life takes a more sinister turn, with our hero battling mental illness stemming from his struggles with his sexuality, touching upon delicate issues such as depression, anorexia and body dysmorphia.
Again, speaking to the NME, Locke said: “It’s quite easy for us to talk about a future season, potentially, because there are already other graphic novels. And in them Charlie deals with an eating disorder and his mental health, which I think would be quite interesting to look at.
“There are some moments in season one in which Charlie is starting to go on that journey. Alice is really clever and writes these subtle moments, where if you didn’t know, you wouldn’t guess. But if you’ve read the novels, then you sort of see Charlie starting to go down that path.”
What does the show's author have to say?
Author Alice Oseman told Digital Spy that it would probably take four seasons to cover the full story.
“I haven’t done any in-detail planning or anything, but it’s quite easy to divide up the books into seasons, so four I think would do it. If we do get a future season, we’ll be moving into volume three of the books," she said.
“And that is when the teacher romance happens. So in the show, we’ve already got Mr Ajayi, but in the books there’s also Mr Farouk, who comes in, in volume three. And they have this kind of interesting friendship going on in the background that eventually becomes something more.
“I think that will be so much fun to write in the show, and I’m very excited to hopefully get to write it.”
