Heartstopper

Hi, gay here! To all of us, children from the 90s who went through hell in school this still seems like twilight zone or something but it is coming, finally teachers are paying attention, and that behaviour is not accepted, not ignored (aka accepted) anymore.

It was really lovely, not woke, not preachy, a really, very down to earth story about acceptance, coming to terms about what, and who you are, and the person you love.

I'm already waiting for season 2.

PS: Niiiiiiiiiiice that finally directors and such stopped portratying us basically doing drugs, sleeping with almost everyone, being half drags, overly feminine, etc. And all that other awful places gay people were portrayed for decades. More of this, please. A story of love, we truly need more of those. :)

'Hi' So I love heartstopper. When I heard we were getting this Netflix series I was so excited and the show didn't let me down.

The casting is superb and just feel so genuine. Kit Connor and Joe Locke ace every scene. Admittedly some of the dialogue is cheesy but you're watching a teen romance series so just let it slide! Kit is great at portraying the conflicting emotions and brings Nick to lift while I just love Joe's acting of the gay anxious panic in almost every scene.

Don't get me started on the supporting cast, I wish I could be friends with Elle! Yasmin steals every scene! And we could all use a friend like Tao.

I'm really hoping for a season 2 as I love these character and just want more :)

Oh and the cameos - no spoilers but just fantastic. Thank you Netflix & thank you Alice Oseman for giving us heartstopper.

Not quite a 10 as I'm hoping for a second season!

Edit: Ok I've changed my score to a 10 now, as a young queer adult this show has really stuck with me and I really wish I had seen something like this 5/10 years ago when I was really struggling with my identity and the anxiety/confusion/self doubt that came with it and still sits with me. I also came away with this feeling sense of loneliness that I missed out on this show at a time of my life when I needed it most. Nick's story line is just *chefs kiss* and so relatable, I think this show is going to be one I enjoy and revisit for a very very long time. I'm now going to rewatch the last 15 minutes of episode 3 (the music during these scenes is just perfect - Alaska by Maggie Rogers & Clearest Blue by CHVRCHES) followed by the last 20 minutes of episode 8 :) thank you again Alice for giving us this story and characters :)

It's not often that a gay story is told so well but this is one of those times. Growing up confused about your sexuality and dealing with coming out ... even today....is not always easy for everyone. The main characters are wonderful in this series. I think the English always handle these stories genuinely!

Loved it. Loved it. Loved it.

It's great to watch a show about real love and not being subjected to gratuitious sex and violence all the time. This show takes me back to the innocence of love. I was so happy not having to see young people getting drunk or having a drug overdose. This show is what the world should be like. A place where you can love freely without judgment.

If you still believe in love...then you will love this show.

Loved all the cast except for the bullies.

Ps Charlie's sister is the best. Loved this character.

I don't really understand the low ratings. So I'll address some of the things those harp on first.

The acting. These are young actors. In the actor who plays Charlie's case, it's literally his first acting gig. This isn't Succession. It's teenagers. And while it's not top notch, it's not nearly as horrible as people are making it sound. It's good enough to get a pass and doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the show.

Boring plot/cringey dialogue. Again, this is a show about teenagers. And it's also not built or supposed to come across like some major, large scale drama. This is a smaller, humbly made show about young people. And I believe the whole point is to sorta exist as the opposite to darker teen shows like Riverdale and Euphoria. It's going out of its way to be low key and innocent. Plot and dialogue are going to reflect that. Some people need that. Another passing grade there.

So I watched and really enjoyed this show. I consider myself a pretty tough critic, yet I didn't pick up on any of the things the negative reviews are nitpicking here. I almost feel like those people went into it with unreasonably high expectations based off what they're used to.

All that being said, why did I enjoy the show? There's plenty of valid reason this show is getting praise. The representation, etc. But the thing that a lot of viewers gloss over that I really appreciated was that these characters are being honest about their feelings and communicating them to each other.

For example, so many scared, confused closeted kids in Nick's situation would jump at the chance to use Imogen as a beard and would have danced around or denied his feelings for Charlie for entire seasons of the show. And the exact opposite happens here. Nick goes out of his way to specifically tell both those characters how he really feels. In a world full of doom and gloom dark teen shows, that is such a positive thing to depict. And it's the sorta thing that's gonna give other young viewers who are going through the same thing a lot of hope.

Aside from a specific reason like that, I feel like this show in general is just so light and positive that anyone that watches it can come away from it just feeling...good. You'll literally notice yourself smiling while you're watching it.

If you need something uplifting that isn't a lot of work to keep up with, this is more than worth your time. Enjoy!