With its iconic cartoon doodles, unwavering optimism and lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry between the charming leads, Heartstopper has firmly cemented its status as one of the most acclaimed (and championed) LGBTQIA+ shows of all time. (I mean, look at the stats and Emmy wins – like, hello?)
The Netflix series has also inspired a whole new rainbow generation with its trailblazing depiction of the queer teen experience; from Nick (Kit Connor) subverting harmful bisexual myths to Elle (Yasmin Finney) breaking new ground as a Black trans teen on British television, and Isaac (Tobie Donovan) representing one of the LGBTQIA+ community’s most marginalised identities as he come to terms with his asexuality. In season three, creator and writer Alice Oseman explores darker themes as the series places emphasis on Charlie’s (Joe Locke) mental health struggles and eating disorder, paving the way for some of the most heart-wrenching (and heart-warming) scenes in Heartstopper’s history.
“It feels selfishly fun to dig your teeth into something more serious, and it takes more acting, I guess, but there’s also a pressure to make sure you do it authentically and not disrespect anyone who’s been through that,” says Joe. The British actor – and now Marvel Cinematic Universe star, with his role in Agatha All Along! – is sat beside his on-screen sister Jenny Walser, who plays a more prominent role this season, following their GAY TIMES shoot. As a result of Charlie’s groundbreaking storyline, Tori has – to the delight of all fans and, of course, Jenny – become a “3D character” who goes on her own journey, one that will undeniably resonate with people who also embody The Grinch (more on that later) energy.
Here, Joe and Jenny discuss the powerful storylines in Heartstopper season three, the touching dynamic between their fan-favourite siblings and the impact Charlie’s mental health journey will have on viewers. They also tease the multiple f-bombs we can expect this season and how there are also “some f**ks in the physical sense”. Yep, Heartstopper has officially entered its sex era!
Joe, I’m so glad that season three officially confirms Charlie’s stance on the Marvel Cinematic Universe…
Joe: Yeah, same. There was a line in season two as well, which we filmed a week or two after I found out I got the part [on Agatha All Along] and I hadn’t told anyone yet. Kit knew, but I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone.
Jenny: Kit basically auditions to play young Captain America [this season], as well..
Joe: The Halloween outfit…
Trying to be spoiler-free as possible here, but let’s just say the fans will be… feral over that moment.
Joe and Jenny: [Both nod in agreement.]
In my attempt to do a little bit of double promo for Heartstopper and Agatha, I have to ask: if both of your characters fully immersed themselves in the MCU, who would their favourite heroes be?
Joe: I think mine and Charlie’s would be very similar. One of the really strong females, Black Widow or Wanda or Agatha, maybe – not that I’m biassed!
Jenny: Yeah, the Scarlet Witch or maybe the Hulk? I feel like she relates to the Hulk because she has that inner rage… We’ll go with She-Hulk for feminism purposes.
Joe: And she can actually control the Hulk.
Joe, I’m so glad you said Black Widow because she’s my all-time favourite and I feel like she’s criminally underrated.
Joe: I went for dinner with Kevin Feige the first time I met him and he said, ‘Who’s your favourite?’ and I told him it was Black Widow. He was like, ‘Oh! Interesting! Nobody really says that,’ and I was like, ‘People are wrong.’
Season three is the heaviest season of Heartstopper so far. So, before we get into the mature themes, what do you love most about your characters and has that changed since season one?
Joe: I love Charlie’s confidence. I don’t think people see him as confident at first, but I do think he’s a very confident character. I’ve always loved that about him.
Jenny: I love Tori’s empathy the most and her dry wit and sarcasm.
This is my favourite season of the series yet. Can you talk to me a little bit about your characters’ respective journeys over these new episodes?
Jenny: A lot of Tori’s journey is precipitated by Charlie’s… I think you have to go first!
Joe: Charlie goes through a really dark period with his mental health this season. We see him experience that and come out the other side, and then he gets really horny… That’s the season!
Jenny: Yep, in a nutshell!
Joe: He goes to the doctor and gets the help that he needs.
Jenny: For Tori, a lot of this season is understanding how she can best help the person she loves the most in the world, when she can see him crumbling in front of her eyes. I think that’s something that isn’t talked about that often, how siblings who live under the same roof are maybe able to see things parents can’t, and knowing how to help them not be overbearing. What’s nice this season is we get to see a bit more of Tori’s own [journey] and hopefully people understand there’s some struggles going on for her as well. She’s opening up to the idea of letting some friendships in, namely Michael. It’s nice to see her as a bit more of a 3D character and not purely there for Charlie.
Joe, this storyline for Charlie has been eagerly awaited by fans after it was introduced in season two. How does it feel to be at the forefront of such a powerful storyline?
Joe: It feels selfishly fun to dig your teeth into something more serious, and it takes more acting, I guess, but there’s also a pressure to make sure you do it authentically and not disrespect anyone who’s been through that. It’s a balance of those two feelings. I’ve always dealt with dark topics in a Heartstopper tone and so it’s really nice to keep doing that, but more grown up.
What measures were taken beforehand to make sure this story was told authentically?
Joe: Production worked with a charity to make sure all the scripts were written with truthfulness. There’s nothing worse than stereotyping someone’s experience on the screen. I also worked closely with Alice and our director, and it’s such a personal thing to go through, it takes a lot of inward looking to make sure you do it right.
Sometimes, actors intentionally or unintentionally become spokespeople for the issues that they portray via their characters. Is that something you’ve thought about?
Joe: No, it’s not. I have thought about the importance of the topic, but not about becoming a spokesperson for it. I only want to become a spokesperson for something that I feel like I can be a good spokesperson for. I guess you do it to an extent through your acting…
Jenny: And it’s kind of dangerous when that line is blurred.
Joe: There shouldn’t be an expectation for actors to do so. As long as you portrayed the story correctly, that in itself is good.
Like you said Jenny, audiences learn more about Tori this season and her love for Charlie. Do you think he’s aware of how much she loves him?
Jenny: Throughout the season, I think he really does understand how deep it runs. The lovely thing is she then begins to understand that he also feels that way about her. She’s shouldered all this… I wouldn’t call it a “burden” by loving him so much, at all, but I think she doesn’t necessarily feel capable of being loved and she hasn’t ever imagined that would be something he would feel back. Towards the end of the season, when he vocalises that to her, it’s a really touching moment. There’s a very memorable scene on a ferris wheel.
Joe: That’s a really gorgeous scene. That’s my favourite scene in the show. I was really emotional when we filmed that. When I read it, as well…
Jenny: Also, they rigged up the camera on the actual carriage and then sent us off on our own to do the scene!
Joe: We just kept going round and round…
Jenny: And so we were just acting together on our own without anyone, really, around us. No people behind the cameras, the cameras were just on us… It was pretty special and kinda cool.
Joe: It was cold, but nice.
Jenny: My fringe doesn’t look the same in any two shots because the wind was having its way with me.
Jenny, we haven’t really had much interaction with Tori and Nick over the course of the series. But, that does change as a result of Charlie’s journey with his mental health. How would you describe this new dynamic between them?
Jenny: That was one of my favourite bits [of season three], not only to read but to film. It was actually great to film with Kit. I knew he was an incredible actor, but to act with him was a wonderful experience. It’s nice to see that she can be, not just a support for Charlie, but to Nick in a way. Nick really goes through it, they’re both trying to navigate that together. One of my favourite scenes is the bit when I appear out of nowhere on the stairs, when they’re both trying to ask, ‘Have you spoken to him?’ and neither of them know what to say or what to do. It makes me laugh. As the series progresses, I think they both do the best they can and that’s enough.
This season we also meet Michael Holden, who made me cackle quite a lot. He forms a relationship with Tori, although it is quite…
Jenny: Ambiguous.
Yes. He does feel like her opposite….
Jenny: It’s a very unlikely pairing! She is as surprised about it as you are. The first moment they meet is at the New Year’s Eve party where they have a, sort of, Heartstopper moment. I have to say, the music in every season has been incredible, but I think the music this season is just beautiful and that song by Nell Mescal is one of my favourite, favourite bits.
What kind of effect do you think Michael has on Tori?
Jenny: For sure, he softens her. She just softens throughout the season, basically, which is really nice to see. It was a bit weird to play that, though, because I’ve been so used to not smiling at all, or even the slightest hint of a smile. Actually, I think we even see some teeth-smiling this season, which is revolutionary! He just makes her a bit goofy and brings out the silly in her, a little bit, even if she does roll her eyes when he’s cracking a joke. It’s like that moment in The Grinch when his heart starts to get a bit bigger.
Joe: Aww, Tori’s The Grinch.
Jenny: Tori’s The Grinch!
Okay, so if there’s a Halloween episode next season…
Jenny: Oh gosh, no!
With all of the serious topics that season three tackles, how did you both make sure to protect your own mental health while filming?
Joe: With Heartstopper, I find it quite easily to detach from it. I think maybe because it’s such a nice group of people and the set is so nice and warm, I’ve never really struggled with that, which I guess is a great thing for the actual production itself…
Jenny: I’d agree.
Joe: Even in the most serious scenes when you yell ‘cut!’, we’re all laughing and joking. We all work together really well and no one takes on too much.
Jenny: And we’ve been in a rhythm for however many years, so I think it wasn’t necessarily a conscious effort…
Joe: Which is a great thing.
Because this is Heartstopper, there are of course some gorgeous lovey-dovey moments. It never loses that. So, which of these moments are you most excited for audiences to see?
Joe: Charlie’s birthday party is cute. It’s fun, because we had everyone there.
Jenny: All of the cam-corder footage really grounds it. It makes them seem so much more real. I just think that Tobie [Donovan] as Isaac is even funnier than usual this season. I think every single character has some real light and some real shade, more so than any other season. Oh, and all of Rhea [Norwood]’s outfits are incredible.
Joe: I love the bit in my birthday party where Imogen drinks the wine and says, “Is it sustainable? I’m trying to do my bit.” It’s so funny. That was a real improv moment.
Jenny: Yeah, there are moments of improv that were really great. Joseph [Balderrama], who plays our dad, all of his improv moments. I’ll be honest, Georgina [Rich] and Joseph, going back to how we protected our mental health, they were a real support for us. They felt like our on-set parents.
Joe: It was nice to have three times as much time with everyone on set this year. It was great to shout at Georgina, we had so much fun. And if you can’t hear us speaking, we’re just saying the most horrible and rude things to each other that could never be in Heartstopper. Out of all of the improv argument scenes, we just call each other horrible names. It was always fun to get to have those angsty teen moments you can never say to your parents.
Well, there are a few f-bombs this season. I think Nick says “f**k”…
Joe: I say “f**k”!
You say “f**k?”
Joe: Yeah, I’m pretty sure I say “f**k”.
Jenny: Yeah, I think so.
Joe: There’s a couple of “f**ks”!
All the “f**ks”!
Jenny: There are some f**ks in the physical sense…
And from hearing about how much fun you have on set, what were your favourite moments to film?
Joe: It’s just like being back at school. It’s also not an easy shoot because we shoot a lot in a short period of time, but it’s nice to have those group periods where we’re all together having a laugh.
Jenny: I actually liked getting to be on set at the same time as everyone else! In previous seasons it’s really just been you and I. Not that I don’t love you dearly, but I get on with so many of the cast outside of filming activities, so it was really nice to get to be on set with them and see them at work. That was really fun, and [you and I] bonding even more over the fact that we both have wisdom teeth problems.
Joe: We were so sick at the same time.
Jenny: I think it was the days around the summer fete, and you were in bits.
Joe: Do you remember that scab I had on my chin? When we were filming all the scenes in Charlie’s house, I had a huge scab. I think they VFX’d it out and that’s where most of the budget went. It was a big, big scab. I had an infection and me and Kit were doing so many kissing scenes, and it was getting worse and worse. I was so rundown!
Jenny: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger…
So in a few weeks, fans will actually be discussing the VFX in Heartstopper as opposed to Marvel’s multi-million dollar series Agatha? Okay!
Joe: I’m gonna find a picture of how bad it was and compare it to what’s in the show, because they must’ve spent so much money on my chin.
I didn’t notice it Joe, you’re all good.
Joe: Thank you.
Finally, there will inevitably be fans who resonate with a lot of the themes presented in season three. What would you like them to take away from Charlie and Tori’s storylines?
Jenny: This will sound very cheesy, but you are never alone. There is always going to be someone that you can talk to if something is shifting in your life that you don’t feel prepared to handle on your own.
Joe: The importance of having a support system and talking to people in your life, not just keeping everything inside.
Hearstopper season 3 debuts on Netflix on 3 October.
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