By Christina Wilson
With a rare 100% Rotten Tomato rating, “Heartstopper” is capturing the hearts of many of the youth today with its representation of the LGBTQ+ community.
Based on a famous webtoon, “Heartstopper” shows the story of two British schoolboys, Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson, as they embark on a journey to discover themselves. Charlie, who is an openly gay student at Truman Grammar School for Boys, struggles with his social life. Nick Nelson, a popular rugby star also at Truman Grammar School for Boys, befriends Charlie and discovers a new side of him he never knew existed. As these two boys, along with their friends, struggle to find themselves, they quickly realize their feelings for each other and develop a relationship.
Many say the reason why “Heartstopper” is such a huge success is due to the fact that compared to other LGBTQ+ shows, it accurately represents today’s youth with their sexuality and coming out.
“I loved how it was about my fruity friends and how everyone got along, but it also showed some of the real world and how people can truly be,” eighth grader Adriana Alvarez said.
Artwork by Ashwathi Chemban
Nick and Charlie's genuine love captures the hearts of many.
“To me as an LGBTQ+ identifying teen, I feel as if 'Heartstopper' really strives to convey queer joy, and it makes me happy to see characters like me happy, instead of always focusing on the oppression we may face,” junior Ashwathi Chemban said.
With its level of success, See-Saw films and Netflix decided that the show will be renewed for not just one more season, but two more seasons. Fans could not be more elated with the news.
“I am super excited for the next two seasons to come out! I can hardly wait for them to be released,” senior Stephanie Ragusa said.
“It’s honestly one of the best shows of all time, so it being renewed isn’t unexpected. I can’t wait to see what is going to happen as the show unfolds,” junior Jasmine Li said.
With the excitement surrounding the upcoming seasons, many question what to expect of the characters as they continue to grow.
“The comic addresses some really serious topics so I am interested to see how they are implemented into the show. The characters in the show had many similarities to the comics but there were also some major differences so I am fascinated to see how they have the characters handle these topics and issues,” Ragusa said.
“As an LGBTQ+ individual, I am excited and nervous for how they go about the story of the two leading characters. From reading the webtoon and watching the show there are some differences, so I wonder what happens not only to the leads, but the side characters as well,” junior Nicholas Washington said.