‘Heartstopper’ Heartbreaker: Olivia Colman Won’t Return for Season 3

Lesley Goldberg
·2 min read
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It’s a heartbreaker for Heartstopper.

Emmy winner Olivia Colman will not return for the third season of Netflix’s British coming-out comedy.

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“I couldn’t do number three. I couldn’t fit it in. I feel awful about that,” the actress who recurred as Sarah Nelson, mother to Nick Nelson (Kit Connor), told Forbes in a feature published Thursday. “I feel like I was part of one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever been part of.”

Series creator Alice Oseman responded to the news on her Instagram Story, explaining that the production “tried absolutely everything we could” to get Colman back for the role, but it “wasn’t meant to be, and that’s just the way the TV world works sometimes.”

Oseman, who penned the Heartstopper graphic novels on which the beloved LGBTQ-themed comedy is based, said the role of Sarah will not be recast. She also asked diehard fans of the show to “not give up” on the show’s handling of a key scene (which we won’t spoil here) featuring Nick and his mother from the graphic novel that is expected to be addressed in season three.

“I have done everything in my power to preserve that scene as written in the comic, and I’ve written in some new elements of the story to ensure that to gives us the emotional punch that it gives in the comic,” she wrote in a four-part message. “Nick’s story from the comics is still there, still infinitely important to me, and Sarah’s role as emotional support for Nick will shift to other characters in the story for now. If we get a season four, I would love for Olivia to be a part of it again!”

Joe Locke, William Gao and Yasmin Finney round out the stars of the show, with additional casting announcements coming soon.

Heartstopper season three will premiere on Netflix in October.

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