It’s practically impossible – IMPOSSIBLE! – to remember a time before Heartstopper. Based on the adored webcomic/graphic novel of the same name from Alice Oseman, the first season of the Netflix series launched last year to overwhelming praise from both longtime fans, new viewers and critics.
The teen comedy-drama follows the wholesome romance between high schoolers Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor), while also exploring the lives of their close-knit circle: Tao (William Gao), Elle (Yasmin Finney), Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell).
With a majority of mainstream queer shows and films still depicting tired trauma elements such as bullying, homophobia and – at times – death, Heartstopper accrued millions of dedicated fans around the world for its unwavering focus on love, joy and acceptance. In addition, the cast were catapulted to worldwide superstardom with Locke’s involvement in the upcoming MCU series Agatha: Coven of Chaos and Finney’s groundbreaking casting in Doctor Who. Pop culture? It’s never been the same.
While we wait with bated breath for more official announcements, we’ve compiled a list of everything we know about the highly-anticipated second season of Heartstopper below.
When will it be released?
On 24 April, Netflix revealed via an announcement video with the cast that season two will drop all eight episodes on 3 August.
What is the plot?
With Heartstopper’s debut adapting the first two volumes of the graphic novels, the new season will bring the third to life. In an interview with Digital Spy, Oseman revealed that “themes of mental health” will be further explored, as “that’s something that’s really important in the books”.
Season two will also delve deeper into the story of Mr Ajayi. Volume three features a romantic storyline with the fan-favourite character and a new teacher, Mr Farouk. Oseman continued to tell DS: “And they have this kind of interesting friendship going on in the background that eventually becomes something more. I think that will be so much fun to write in the show, and I’m very excited to hopefully get to write it.”
While other narratives are yet to be confirmed, Kit Connor told NME that “there’s a lot more exploration to be done in terms of his family. It’s known to fans of the comics that he has an older brother who’s homophobic. I think that would be a really interesting route to go down, but I think there’s loads of material to go and explore.”
Speaking with Radio Times, Oseman added: “This season, Nick wants to come out to the world, but faced with his nasty brother, his mostly absent father, and his laddy mates, soon finds that it’s not as easy as he initially thought.” Oseman continued to explain that, due to Charlie’s (Joe Locke) endless support of Nick (Kit Connor), Charlie will ‘neglect’ his mental health. However, they added: “But no matter the challenges ahead for the Heartstopper gang, we all know that they’ll be okay in the end!”
The official synopsis for season two reads: “Nick and Charlie navigate their new relationship; Tara and Darcy face unforeseen challenges and Tao and Elle work out if they can ever be more than just friends. With exams on the horizon, a school trip to Paris and a prom to plan, the gang has a lot to juggle as they journey through the next stages of life, love and friendship.”
Who is returning from the first season?
The core six – Joe Locke, Kit Connor, Yasmin Finney, William Gao, Corinna Brown and Kizzy Edgell – are all reprising their roles, as well as Tobie Donovan as Isaac Henderson, Jenny Walser as Tori Spring, Sebastian Croft as Ben Hope, Cormac Hyde-Corrin as Harry Greene, Rhea Norwood as Imogen Heaney, Fisayo Akinade as Mr Ajayi, Chetna Pandya as Coach Singh, Stephen Fry as the voice of Headmaster Barnes and Olivia Colman as Sarah Nelson.
Alice Oseman is also returning as writer for season two.
Who are the new cast members?
Season two will introduce a plethora of new faces, such as TikTok star Bel Priestly and Ash Self as new friends of Elle. Nick’s family will also be rounded out with Call My Agent!’s Thibault de Montalembert as his father, Stephane, and Jack Barton as his older brother David.
Additional cast members include Leila Khan as Higgs student Sahar Zahid, Nima Taleghani as Truham teacher Mr Farouk and Bradley Riches – who previously played a student in season one – as Truham student James McEwan.
Will there be a season three?
With a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and viewers watching almost 24 million hours of the show in its first full week on the platform, Netflix immediately renewed the series for two more seasons! Heartstopper hive, unite!
“To those who have fallen in love with Nick & Charlie, cried watching Alice Oseman’s magical story brought to life, or felt represented for the first time on-screen, I am elated to announce,” Netflix wrote on 20 May. “Heartstopper has been renewed for TWO MORE SEASONS!”
This article will be updated over time.
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