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Heartstopper - Netflix

411 replies

MrsBooks · 29/04/2022 16:46

Binged it, loved it, binged it again to Shazam all the music!!

Anyone else watched it?

Gay, geeky teen falls in love with supposedly straight, popular, rugby playing lad. Just very sweet high school drama.

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8
Cheguevarahamster · 14/05/2022 12:12

Just to say that I LOVED this series. So sweet and lovely and the acting (particularly the fit who played Nick) was fabulous.
The first book is on kindle daily deals for 99p today. 😁

ISpyCobraKai · 14/05/2022 14:39

If anyone's interested, there's a Film on Netflix called Handsome Devil.
It's British/Irish and though not a love story, it deals with a boys' boarding school where rugby is everything.
It's v sweet, funny and has a great message.

ISpyCobraKai · 14/05/2022 14:39

Also if you think Nick is gorgeous, then you'll love Connor!

FussyLittleFucker · 14/05/2022 15:29

We live quite close to where it was filmed and my teens and their friends visit the locations where it was shot. They come home all flushed and overwhelmed.Grin
It's very sweet but makes me so nostalgic for my teenage years. Even as a middle-aged long-married person I can remember those feelings of longing exactly. Sigh.

Perroquet · 14/05/2022 16:35

I'm badly addicted to this series and have already watched it thrice now! Nick and Charlie's relationship is the most pure, wholesome thing I have seen on TV in my life, I think! One thing that bothers me a bit though: I thought it was odd that Nick, the popular rugby lad, had not a single nice, kind friend before Charlie! All of them were either bullies or boys who didn't bother to speak up against the bullies or stand up for the victims. (Indeed, they were all standing in a circle cheering on Harry and Tao's fight until Nick rushes in and pulls Harry off!) We clearly get the impression that Nick's rugby lad "mates" were all unkind and aggressive and Nick must have felt out of place with them always, only conforming with them out of peer pressure. However, Charlie had a close group of true friends (Tao, Elle, Isaac) despite being the "social outcast".

Nick's lack of any true, kind friends before Charlie seemed somewhat unrealistic and harsh to me. It made his exchanging the company his unkind mates for Charlie very stark and black-and-white. Whereas if Nick had at least one kind friend among the rugby lads, he could have had a better situation where he'd not be giving up all his past companions for Charlie, and there would be some "continuity" in the sense that his old nice friend(s) and his new boyfriend would both co-exist as meaningful parts of his life. Charlie gets to keep his own old friends and also get a nice boyfriend, but Nick seems to never have had any nice old friends to begin with, which seems rather unfair to him!

SarahAndQuack · 14/05/2022 17:02

Oh, that's a really interesting point.

I wonder if what Nick's mum says is relevant here - she says Nick seems much more himself around Charlie. The way I understood it was that Nick had ended up with a group of friends he'd gradually got less and less in common with, and he was slightly changing himself to fit in with them. Then part of the reason he likes Charlie is that he's already a bit uncomfortable with them.

I do find that part quite realistic. I also think Isobel's character seemed like a genuine and nice friend, surely?

TigerLilyTail · 14/05/2022 17:16

Nick seems to never have had any nice old friends to begin with

I don't think that's true. I think Harry and Ben were dicks, but it seemed like some of the others were nice and maybe more in the books, they mention some of Nick's friends as being nice. I think Harry's toxic personality just overshadowed them all a bit. I remember Charlie saying that he liked Aled and maybe someone else. I can't remember now, maybe someone else knows.

BiscuitLover3678 · 14/05/2022 17:50

Perroquet · 14/05/2022 16:35

I'm badly addicted to this series and have already watched it thrice now! Nick and Charlie's relationship is the most pure, wholesome thing I have seen on TV in my life, I think! One thing that bothers me a bit though: I thought it was odd that Nick, the popular rugby lad, had not a single nice, kind friend before Charlie! All of them were either bullies or boys who didn't bother to speak up against the bullies or stand up for the victims. (Indeed, they were all standing in a circle cheering on Harry and Tao's fight until Nick rushes in and pulls Harry off!) We clearly get the impression that Nick's rugby lad "mates" were all unkind and aggressive and Nick must have felt out of place with them always, only conforming with them out of peer pressure. However, Charlie had a close group of true friends (Tao, Elle, Isaac) despite being the "social outcast".

Nick's lack of any true, kind friends before Charlie seemed somewhat unrealistic and harsh to me. It made his exchanging the company his unkind mates for Charlie very stark and black-and-white. Whereas if Nick had at least one kind friend among the rugby lads, he could have had a better situation where he'd not be giving up all his past companions for Charlie, and there would be some "continuity" in the sense that his old nice friend(s) and his new boyfriend would both co-exist as meaningful parts of his life. Charlie gets to keep his own old friends and also get a nice boyfriend, but Nick seems to never have had any nice old friends to begin with, which seems rather unfair to him!

Thrice 😂 you disgruntled pelican

historyofthefuture · 14/05/2022 18:07

Hmm, I'm not sure about the friends thing disgruntledpelican Like it's a really classic trope in high school stories that the popular kids often can't stand each other (eg. Mean Girls, Heathers) but are trapped by the gravity well of their friendship group. Nick's got caught up with the rugby lads and, as SarahandQuack says, has outgrown them but doesn't know how what else to do. He's written as someone who's clearly confident and friendly - ie. he has no qualms about befriending the nerdy boy a year younger - but just tangled up in how his social group act, and how Harry and Ben steer that behaviour.

And it makes sense to me that Charlie has his little tight group of outcast friends - sweet nerdy kids who just want to hang out and play boardgames is super-realistic. One of the millions of things I loved about Heartstopper was that it showed a group of friends who were nearly all LGBT+ - there's an infuriating trope in popular culture of the 'one gay friend' in friendship groups, when in real life (and my own experience), an LGBT+ friends gang with one token straight person (Tao) is far more realistic.

And now I'm thinking of 'My So-Called Life' which starts with Clare Danes' character ditching her popular, preppy best friend in favour of running around with the weird punk kids :)

StrawberryLipstickStateOfMind1 · 14/05/2022 18:48

I assumed Nick's friend group had come from the rugby team and just sort of been like that from Y7, and it would be hard for him to speak up because of the team?
Tbf, he did when it counted.
(I'm CobraKai, just fancied a name change)

Allloveisbeautiful · 14/05/2022 19:15

StrawberryLipstickStateOfMind1 · 14/05/2022 18:48

I assumed Nick's friend group had come from the rugby team and just sort of been like that from Y7, and it would be hard for him to speak up because of the team?
Tbf, he did when it counted.
(I'm CobraKai, just fancied a name change)

I’ve also changed my name from the ridiculous Nffffff etc! Yes, they probably had been friends for quite a few years & again there is peer pressure to stay with the same group of friends which is why it’s even more admirable for Nick to step away…is it me or does Nick just seem so much more mature than all the others? And it’s that maturity and insight that I think is part why Charlie is attracted to him..

LethargeMarg · 14/05/2022 21:07

I have just finished this and absolutely adored it. It is quite close to home as my ten year old son recently told me in floods of tears that he thinks he has had a crush on a boy and dh is struggling a bit with it all and I just found it so moving and heart warming. Would like to watch it with ds but don't want to seem like I'm making to much of a big deal of what he said . I think he knows about it though so hoping he may watch it as I think they're such great role models
I downloaded the book- hadn't realised it was a comic but loved it and may buy the others as think would be better in a proper book rather than kindle

LethargeMarg · 14/05/2022 21:10

My favourite bit was when Charlie did the little dance in the hallway - took me back to being 16 and a boy I liked calling round unexpectedly for me and when he left me and my best friend did a celebration dance in the hall

DistrictCommissioner · 14/05/2022 21:16

in the books some of Nick’s rugby friends are nice kids & are supportive. I expect we will see a bit of that in series 2? (Which hasn’t been announced but surely must be going to happen!)

SarahAndQuack · 14/05/2022 21:16

Oh, @LethargeMarg, watch it with him! It's so adorable and lovely, and the fact Nick is bisexual makes it feel very unthreatening to have crushes on either sex.

I'm watching it with my five-year-old DD, for slightly different reasons, but I think it's just so lovely to be able to watch something so wholesome and family-friendly, that's also LGBT.

LethargeMarg · 14/05/2022 21:19

FussyLittleFucker · 14/05/2022 15:29

We live quite close to where it was filmed and my teens and their friends visit the locations where it was shot. They come home all flushed and overwhelmed.Grin
It's very sweet but makes me so nostalgic for my teenage years. Even as a middle-aged long-married person I can remember those feelings of longing exactly. Sigh.

Yes so much - think that's what I loved about Normal People and One Day (book not film) as those feelings of lust and longing are so powerful and nostalgic- like the bit where Elle texts that Tara is definitely not going out with nick and he sits up so excited - awww

StrawberryLipstickStateOfMind1 · 14/05/2022 21:49

DistrictCommissioner · 14/05/2022 21:16

in the books some of Nick’s rugby friends are nice kids & are supportive. I expect we will see a bit of that in series 2? (Which hasn’t been announced but surely must be going to happen!)

Charlie is also popular in the books.

SheilaFentiman · 14/05/2022 22:32

The sister is ace. So deadpan but so lovely to Charlie when he needs it.

TigerLilyTail · 15/05/2022 06:12

The sister reminds me of Catherine Tate!

Sorry, I checked it was Sai and Christian who Charlie said were nice. In the book, Nick isn't friends with Ben and really doesn't like him. But, the rugby lads seem to like Charlie even though they weren't sure about him at first.

I actually like the fact that the characters aren't so one-dimensional, i.e., popular doesn't equal mean.

I think they changed some of the characters, like is Aled Isaac in the show? Was Charlie's little brother in the show?

FussyLittleFucker · 15/05/2022 09:37

@TigerLilyTail I said the same, the sister is like a young Catherine Tate!

DistrictCommissioner · 15/05/2022 11:56

TigerLilyTail yeah I don’t know why Aled was changed into Isaac, & the little brother isn’t in the show.

DistrictCommissioner · 15/05/2022 11:57

Btw OP you don’t need to Shazam the music - it’s all on Spotify as the soundtrack. I’ve been listening obsessively!

PaddlingLikeADuck · 15/05/2022 12:18

I’ve watched it way too many times.

Are there any other shows on Netflix that are of a similar theme? I do feel a bit lovey dovey about boys realising their hidden feelings for other boys.

magnoliaabomination · 15/05/2022 12:21

DistrictCommissioner · 15/05/2022 11:56

TigerLilyTail yeah I don’t know why Aled was changed into Isaac, & the little brother isn’t in the show.

Aled is a main character in another of her books and it would've caused too many issues if he was in Heartstopper too as a side character with simultaneous events. So they've basically replaced Aled with Isaac who's not the same person but fulfills the same role in relation to Nick & Charlie

The little brother was written out as he's a minor character and having a child actor on set is a pain for lots of reasons

StrawberryLipstickStateOfMind1 · 15/05/2022 12:28

PaddlingLikeADuck · 15/05/2022 12:18

I’ve watched it way too many times.

Are there any other shows on Netflix that are of a similar theme? I do feel a bit lovey dovey about boys realising their hidden feelings for other boys.

Young Royals is, or for films then Handsome Devil or Call me by your name.