Heartstopper creator on expanding the comic for the show, including season 3
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Warning: This article contains spoilers from Heartstopper season 2.
Alice Oseman, the young-adult fiction writer and television producer, now sees Netflix's Heartstopper as "very separate" from her comics on which it's based. It's still "quite a faithful adaptation," the British scribe tells EW, but in her mind, she's content "letting the show be its own thing."
We see that in season 2, which is available to stream now on Netflix. Oseman, who also created and wrote the adaptation, expanded upon the characters surrounding Kit Connor's Nick and Joe Locke's Charlie. The love story that emerges between Elle (Yasmin Finney) and Tao (William Gao) features in the source material, but now there's "a huge buildup to their romance," Oseman notes. The same can be said of Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell), the latter of which isn't out to her family; Isaac (Tobie Donovan), who realizes he's asexual; and even the teachers. The love arc between Fisayo Akinade's Mr. Ajayi and Nima Taleghani's Mr Farouk was made more prominent in the show after Oseman heard how some of Heartstopper's adult fans felt "they didn't get to experience the Nick and Charlie romance that's in the show," she explains.
With Oseman now actively writing season 3, she says she's "excited to get to expand Heartstopper" even more. "There's so much new stuff that gives us so much to play with in season 3," she says.
Read EW's full interview with Oseman about Heartstopper season 2 and the upcoming season 3 below.
Samuel Dore/Netflix The 'Heartstopper' gang of season 2
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Season 2 felt a lot more like an ensemble piece compared to the first season. Was that by design?
ALICE OSEMAN: Definitely. Now that we've done the getting-together romance of Nick and Charlie, there is room to explore what's going on in the other relationships of the story. We ended season 1 with Tao and Elle, for example, a little hint that something might be going on, some kind of unspoken feelings, and we get to explore that more in season 2. Also, we have Tara and Darcy who are kind of the perfect couple in season 1. They've been together the longest out of everyone. They don't seem to have any relationship issues, but then in season 2, we get to delve more into what is going on between them and finding out that things aren't quite as perfect as they seem.
What characters were you most excited to explore more in the show?
I love all my characters. I can't choose. Aside from Nick and Charlie, who I love very, very deeply for obvious reasons, I was so excited to explore Tao and Elle's story. In the comics, there's romance, but it's not explored in a lot of detail, whereas in the show we do so much more with it. There's such a huge buildup to their romance and so much drama and so much angst that happens between them. But I was also really excited about Isaac's story, because he has his own sexuality journey in season 2 where he's figuring out that he might be asexual. That's the story that I have very rarely ever seen on TV and film.
Samuel Dore/Netflix Joe Locke and Kit Connor star as Charlie and Nick in 'Heartstopper' season 2
I was struck by the parallels between Nick's story this season and what Kit Connor has talked about publicly, about feeling pressured to come out as bisexual. Is that parallel just a coincidence or were you inspired by Kit's own perseverance during this particular time in his life?
It was pure coincidence, because Nick's story existed in the comics long before I wrote it again for the show. But Heartstopper is about balancing the light with the dark, and I think that becomes particularly clear in season 2. We've still got these joyful, beautiful Heartstopper moments, but all the characters are dealing with their own issues, as well. For Nick, that is feeling like he can't quite come out or he doesn't know when to do it, how to do it, who to do it to. It's a really relatable experience I think a lot of people go through, particularly young queer people.
Do you have a particular guiding principle for how to balance the light with the dark?
I don't have a kind of guide for it, I guess, but the way I do try to think of it is when you're a writer, there's a lot of talk about showing versus telling. When you are writing about something that can be triggering for people, choosing when to show something versus when to just tell it is really important. If you show too much, it can be very triggering for people and it can be really deeply upsetting to watch and that's not always the right thing to do when you're telling a story about those themes. While we do see some evidence of Charlie's eating disorder, there are also moments where Charlie's able to just explain it to Nick. And we come to understand it through that, as well, which I think is comforting in some ways. Also, there are things later in the season surrounding mental health that we completely tell rather than show.
Netflix Tao (William Gao) and Elle (Yasmin Finney) go on their first date in 'Heartstopper' season 2
Heartstopper season 2 is coming at a time in America where politicians are actively working to strip healthcare and protections for trans youth. And then here comes a show where you have a warm and fuzzy love story about a trans youth, Elle, and her partner. As you were developing this particular character relationship, were you paying attention to real-world events?
Yeah. It's impossible not to be aware of that stuff at the moment. It's the same situation in the U.K., really. There's insane levels of transphobia in the media, in politics, and it's horrible to hear that all the time. So, I do think Heartstopper is really important, and other stories that do this as well, in showing trans teens just being teens and just having regular teen experiences, like having a crash and falling in love and making new friends. People are constantly trying to politicize the existence of trans teens. Just let them be teens. Just let them enjoy their lives, go on adventures. I hope parts of Heartstopper feels like a comfort to the trans teens who are just being bombarded with this stuff all the time. I do hope it does some good.
Was there any specific audience feedback from season 1 that informed season 2? I remember fans were loving the little hints of Tao and Elle's relationship back then.
I mean, so many. I read way too much of people's opinions about Heartstopper. I really do. People absolutely loved Tao and Elle in season 1 and that just made me more excited to tell that story in season 2. One really common reaction we had to season 1 was from older viewers who would often talk about how they enjoyed Heartstopper, but it made them feel melancholic about their own teenage life, because they didn't get to experience the Nick and Charlie romance that's in the show. Seeing all of those made me really excited to tell the story of the teachers in season 2, which is something that's in the comics, but we see a little bit more of in the show, where Mr. Ajayi makes friends with a new teacher called Mr. Farouk, who came out in his late 20s. There's one scene where he feels sad that he didn't get to have those teenage experiences, but then we get to see Mr. Farouk having his beautiful, magical Heartstopper moment.
Teddy Cavendish/Netflix Fisayo Akinade's Mr. Ajayi and Nima Taleghani's Mr Farouk in 'Heartstopper' season 2
I know a lot of things are up in the air in our industry with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, but in terms of what comes next on the show, season 3 was announced alongside season 2 last year. Were you developing season 2 and season 3 simultaneously?
I've started writing it right now. It's very much underway. We did not expect to get a season 3 renewal at the same time as season 2 because that's quite rare, to be honest. What that did do is it gave us more time to think about what's gonna happen in season 3. I could set things up safely in season 2 knowing that we would be able to get to it in season 3, which is not a luxury that I had in season 1. I really wanted season 1 to feel like it had an ending just in case we didn't get any more. There's truly nothing I hate more than a show that gets canceled on a cliffhanger.
Do you feel like you're now getting into an area where you can deviate a lot from the comics?
I think so. I'm always very committed to preserving what is in the comics and making sure all the big, exciting moments are in the show, but honestly, there is just so much extra space around that to do whatever we want. Now that we've got seasons 1 and 2, we've had so much development for the supporting cast: Tao, Elle, Tara, Isaac, even new characters like Imogen. There's so much new stuff that gives us so much to play with in season 3. I feel very comfortable letting the show be its own thing. In my mind, the show and the comic feel very separate, although it's quite a faithful adaptation. I feel excited to get to expand Heartstopper for the show.
Heartstopper season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
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