Heartstopper season two

Netflix captured the hearts of viewers with the budding romance between high schoolers Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor) in the first season of Heartstopper. The coming-of-age love story, based on creator Alice Oseman’s comic series of the same name, bursts with charm and tenderness, and Locke and Connor won audiences over with their endlessly endearing performances and winning chemistry. The second season is finally here, and the show is just as spectacular as fans could have hoped.

Picking up where the first chapter left off, with Charlie and Nick officially becoming boyfriends, the second season sees the boys approach the end of their school year. Final exams are in full swing, but the promise of turning a school trip to Paris into a romantic getaway is something that they’re both looking forward to. But with Nick still not coming out to everyone in his life, the pair haven’t achieved their happy ending just yet.

Although the spotlight is kept predominately on Nick and Charlie’s romantic journey, season two expands its sights and gives more time to the supporting characters and their relationship woes, with a substantial amount of time spent exploring Tao (William Gao) and Elle’s (Yasmin Finney) will-they-won’t-they relationship. The likes of Tobie Donavan’s Isaac and Rhea Norwood’s Imogen also have more to do this season. The result is a show that feels much bigger this time around to allow space for a wider range of queer experiences, each as authentically human as the last.

For every joyous high point in these characters’ journeys, punctuated with an energetic soundtrack and wholesome, animated sparks whenever hands touch, there are just as many devastating blows that remind audiences of how difficult relationships can be alongside the harsh reality of being queer in contemporary society. Like the first season, the script refrains from indulging in queer trauma to instead portray honest explorations of love and friendship. And when things get too much, Olivia Coleman is there once again to comfort viewers as Nick’s wonderfully supportive mother.

Bigger in scale, without losing any of the honesty and heart that made the first season an instant hit, this second instalment of Heartstopper gives fans more than they could have wished for from Nick and Charlie’s Parisian vacation.

Andrew Murray

Heartstopper season two is released on Netflix on 3^rd August 2023.

Watch the trailer for Heartstopper season two here: