Netflix has aired a graphic novel adaptation following the high school romance of same-sex couple Charlie and Nick and fans are wondering when is Heartstopper season 2 coming to Netflix?
The eight-episode romance drama is one of the latest highly anticipated offerings from the streaming service that brought Tinder Swindler and Inventing Anna, based on Alice Oseman's series of comics about love, friendship, loyalty, life, time, and mental illness.
It explores, among other things, the blossoming relationship between Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring, two boys at a British all-boys grammar school as we look at all you need to know...
When does Heartstopper season 2 come out?
Netflix confirmed there WILL be both a season 2 and 3 of Heartstopper and season two will be released on Thursday, August 3rd 2023. The release date announcement came with a behind-the-scenes video of the cast teasing what fans can expect from season 2. Charlie and Nick are back in Truham Grammar school for boys but they're headed to Paris.
It comes months after the streaming service announced that the popular show will return for TWO more seasons, produced by See-Saw Films. The graphic novel author and illustrator Alice Oseman returns as writer and creator.
Prior to the confirmation, a second season looked likely as its creator and show runner Alice Oseman and Patrick Walters have recently teased the future topics they would like to explore in further seasons - which proves that they have certainly thought about it.
Oseman told Digital Spy, "If we do get future seasons, I'll definitely want to be bringing in the themes of mental health, because that's something that's really important in the books."
The first series was so popular it reached the Netflix Top Ten list in 54 countries.
One fan was so passionate about there being a season 2 that he tweeted, "If Netflix cancels season 2 of Heartstopper i’m canceling my subscription."
But they are now delighted with the news. One fan tweeted, "Incredible, thank you Netflix for fulfilling our community's dream and for going on You did it too, that's another heart stopping moment now."
Another fan put, "I have no business being so excited about this haha amazing news!!! I can't wait to see how Charlie and Nick's relationship evolves and how they adjust to being properly together."
And a third fan added, "Joe I'm so happy for u & the whole cast!! you deserve it so damn much."
How many Heartstopper books are there?
There are four volumes of novels in the Heartstopper graphic book collection and the first two volumes are covered in the first season of the popular Netflix show. According to Den of Geek, a fifth and final volume is scheduled for release in February 2023.
It's expected that season 2 would serve as an adaptation of volumes three and four.
And creator and show runner Alice Oseman, confirmed to Tudum on the set of Heartstopper, "Season 2 is based on Volume 3. So we had a good foundation. But there’s not enough in the book to take a whole season of TV, so there had to be a lot of creation of new stuff.”
Speaking about adapting her work for the screen, Alice said, “The main thing being that the comics are quite short, like the story is quite short, so to fill up a whole season of TV we had to expand the story and add in lots of small subplots, and more about other characters that aren’t in the comics.”
All volumes of the books can be purchased on Amazon, Waterstones or other online retailers.
And so far, according to NPD Bookscan, Heartstopper weekly book sales in the US have increased 1700%. Volume 1 is currently the number one YA fiction book in the US and featured on the NYT bestseller list.
When is Heartstopper on Netflix?
Heartstopper season one is still available to stream on Netflix. It is a graphic novel adaptation of Alice Oseman's comics about love, friendship, loyalty, life, time, and mental illness and follows the high school romance of Charlie and Nick.
For anyone who wants to know the synopsis from season one, in a nutshell, essentially, boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. When gentle Charlie and rugby-loving Nick meet at secondary school, they quickly discover that their unlikely friendship is blossoming into an unexpected romance. Charlie, Nick and their circle of friends must navigate the ever-relatable journey of self discovery and acceptance, supporting each other as they learn to find their most authentic selves.]
Kit Connor, who plays Niuck teased, "Alice has got some amazing scripts for us,” and it “feels cool and fresh.” Overall, it’s “just a different vibe to Season 1.”
You can watch the official Heartstopper season 2 trailer below...
Where is Heartstopper filmed?
Heartstopper season 2 was filmed in September 2022 at Twickenham Studios, London, and finished in early December the same year. The majority of Heartstopper season one is filmed in Herne Bay, Kent. Production started in April last year and saw the the following locations used for filming; Herne Bay High School was used for Truham Grammar school, Hollywood Bowl bowling alley in High Wycombe. North Weald railway station on the Epping Ongar heritage railway - a former branch of the London Underground's central line, which closed in 1994, was used as the backdrop for the station where Nick and Charlie depart to the seaside.
You can view the first scene of the first episode of season 2 below...
Who is in the cast of Heartstopper on Netflix?
The cast of Heartstopper season 2 sees the return of Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor), who are ready to explore their relationship further. And joining them are the rest of season one cast including Yasmin Finney as Elle Argent, William Gao as Tao Xu, Corinna Brown as Tara Jones, Kizzy Edgell as Darcy Olsson, Sebastian Croft as Ben Hope, Cormac Hyde-Corrin as Harry Greene, Tobie Donovan as Isaac, Rhea Norwood as Imogen and Jenny Walser as Tori.
Plus Fisayo Akinade (Mr Ajayi), Chetna Pandya (Coach Singh), Alan Turkington (Mr. Lange) and Olivia Colman (as Nick’s mum, Sarah) will also return as the adults shepherding these young teens toward who they’re meant to be.
Talent Instagram followings have exploded with Kit Connor at 3.4M and Joe Locke at 2.5M, both had just over 100K followers a month prior to launch.
What is the age rating for Heartstopper on Netflix?
The advised age rating for Heartstopper the comic series is 12+ so the rating for the Netflix show is expected to be similar. It's author Alice previously explained the benefits of writing a webcomic first, when it comes to producing LGBTQ+ material that's not too harmful.
Alice said, "One good thing about Heartstopper being a webcomic is that I get ongoing feedback firstly from my Patron supporters (who see it first), and then from commenters as I upload it online. If anything I was doing was harmful or inaccurate, my commenters will be the first people to tell me, for sure! Thankfully I haven’t been in that situation thus far, but if I was, I would then have the power to change the story before the pages were finalised for the physical books."
Speaking about the storyline, Alice added, "Heartstopper tells the story of Charlie, an openly gay over-thinker, and Nick, a soft-hearted rugby player. The two boys meet at an all-boys grammar school (a type of selective single-sex high school we have here in the south-east of England!) and quickly become friends, despite their many differences. When Charlie starts falling for Nick, he doesn’t think he has a chance. But love works in surprising ways, and Nick’s a little more interested in Charlie than Charlie thinks…"
Heartstopper season is still available to stream on Netflix with season 2 premiere on August 3rd 2023. And if you're looking for another school-based show check out Sex Education Season 4 when it's released on Netflix.
