The story
At Truham Grammar School, Charlie Spring – outed as gay before the story begins, and still dealing with bullies – strikes up an unlikely friendship with Nick Nelson, a good-natured member of the rugby crowd. What starts as friendship slowly becomes something more, while their friends Tao, Elle, Isaac, Tara and Darcy navigate crushes, identity and coming out. Hand-drawn animated doodles echo the warmth of Alice Oseman's original webcomic.
Why it matters
Heartstopper travelled from a webcomic to a global streaming series, with its creator writing every episode. Commentators saw it as part of a wider shift towards joyful, affirming LGBTQ+ television; it also lifted sales of Oseman's books and earned seven Children's and Family Emmy Awards.
Notable facts
- Alice Oseman began publishing Heartstopper as a webcomic in 2016. (source)
- It won the Children's and Family Emmy for Outstanding Young Teen Series in 2022. (source)
- In April 2025 Netflix chose a feature-length finale film, Heartstopper Forever, over a fourth series to end the story. (source)
- Nick's bisexual storyline was widely highlighted as an important example of bisexual representation on screen. (source)