Whether it’s the drug-fuelled parties of Euphoria or the concupiscent trysts of Sex Education, television executives have, of late, been turning school-aged children into pin-ups. If that idea makes you uncomfortable, you might do better with Netflix’s Heartstopper – a chaste look at young love, focused far more on its inclusivity and diversity agenda than any attempt to shock or titillate. Impeccably sugary and entirely absent of bite, Heartstopper is, depending on your perspective, either a palate cleanser or a treacly over-indulgence.
The second chapter picks up exactly where the first left off. Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor) are together, and, at last, their group of misfit friends know about it. But not everything is as simple as their relationship: Elle (Yasmin Finney) and Tao (William Gao) are still pining for each other, while quiet Isaac (Tobie Donovan) is starting to feel left out of the great coupling-up. And it’s not like Charlie and Nick (“Chick” or “Narlie”?) are having it all their own way – there’s a miserable new teacher in town, Nick’s brash brother is back from uni, and GCSEs are looming. “We are tragic star-crossed lovers,” Charlie tells Nick, as exams and revision conspire against the teenagers.
