Netflix’s emotional comic book series Heartstopper has confirmed that it will return for two more seasons after delighting fans everywhere.
Based on the LGBTQ+ comic books by Alice Oseman, who will be returning as writer and creator, the series tells the story of shy Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) who is assigned the seat next to school rugby star Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) in their form group. The two boys strike up an unlikely friendship, and Charlie quickly develops a crush on his kind and handsome new pal — but Nick is caught off guard when he realizes that he sees Charlie as more than just a friend too.
Their sweet characters won the hearts of viewers all over the world as the pair came to terms with their own identities, sexualities, and, most importantly, feelings for each other, resulting in a delightful ending.
Alice took to Instagram to announce the exciting news, which saw her get busy drawing up the much-loved characters, accompanied by the caption: “SEASONS 2 AND 3. I’d better get to work… ✌️🍂.”
Heartstopper has become a global phenomenon, reaching the Netflix’s Top Ten list in 54 countries, as well as the hashtag #heartstopper amassing over 4.3B views on TikTok.
Not only this, but it has received a 100% Critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has topped Variety’s Trending TV chart for four weeks with 1.05 million engagements on Twitter.
Heartstopper weekly book sales have also increased 1700% in the US and volume 1 is currently the number one young adult fiction book in the US, as well as being featured on the New York Times bestseller list.
Talking to What to Watch, Joe revealed how important it was to have positive LGBTQ+ stories to tell young people.
He said: "I think Kit was the first one to say this, I don't know if I've stolen this from him, but it's like a realistic story told in an optimistic way. We have the challenges that the characters face, and the realistic school bullying, but it's like you can always see the light at the end of the tunnel, you can always see that it's going to have a happy ending.
“I think it's definitely an important story to tell for young queer teenagers because there's increasing queer representation on TV, but not so much in a show that's aimed at young teenagers, and a lot of shows focus on the more negative things that people may face.
“It's equally, if not more, important to show the beauty of being queer and all the lovely things that come along with that."
Heartstopper season 1 is available to stream on Netflix.
