☛ Cette critique est aussi disponible en français [➦].

Translated by Florence Bois-Villeneuve. 

Heartstopper was on everyone’s mind after its release on April 22nd. The coming-of-age series is set in 2010 and follows Charlie Spring (Joe Locke), a young student at Truham Grammar School, an all-boys school in the UK. A victim of bullying following his coming out, he hopes the new school year will be more enjoyable. When he is paired in one of his classes with Nick Nelson (Kit Connor), a popular rugby player with whom he quickly develops a friendship (and a strong crush), he becomes more optimistic. Alongside their romance, we also follow the story of Charlie’s good friends Tao Xu (William Gao), Elle Argent (Yasmin Finney) and Isaac Henderson (Tobie Donovan), who all fear a bad end to this love story.

The series was written by British author Alice Oseman and based on the eponymous comics that she began publishing on Tumblr in September 2016. As an aromantic and asexual person, Oseman drew inspiration from her own life. After acquiring the rights, Netflix entrusted Euros Lyn (Doctor Who, Sherlock, His Dark Materials) with the directing. In just two days after its release, the show broke into the platform’s top 10 and received glowing reviews from critics, including a 100% “Certified Fresh” rating from the website Rotten Tomatoes.

Without reinventing the genre, the series’ optimistic and light-hearted tone is what makes it so appealing. This lightheartedness is reinforced by the addition of post-production effects that echo the comics; leaves blowing in the wind, rain, butterflies, and small electric shocks are added on the screen to convey the inner state of the characters. Far from trauma dumping, the show explores LGBTQ+ relationships and identities without clichés or feelings of despair. On several occasions, when viewers usually expect the worst, they are pleasantly surprised by the characters’ courage and empathy.
Another strength of the series is its ability to take us back to our first teenage loves, by using a melancholic soundtrack. It revives our desire to run out in the rain to kiss our crush, or the anxiety of rewriting the same text message for the twelfth time before sending it. But what really sets the series apart is its realism. Unlike other teen series (like Euphoria or Skins), the characters don’t always seem to be partying, but engage in equally entertaining activities, like bowling, going to the movies or playing sports. Also noteworthy is the author’s nuanced approach to not reducing LGBTQ+ characters to their sexual orientation or gender identity.

All in all, it’s a feel-good series that you’ll wish you’d seen when you were younger. Its only flaw: the eight episodes are binge-watched too quickly, but fortunately, two new seasons have been confirmed. Let’s hope Heartstopper will continue to explore teen drama with the same sensitivity and truthfulness that have made it so popular.

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¹The coming-of-age literary and cinematic genre chronicles the transition of one or more characters from childhood or adolescence to adulthood.

² Trauma dumping is when a series unexpectedly and unpreparedly unloads traumatic feelings and experiences on the audience.

Reference
Writer and creator: Alice Oseman
Director: Euros Lyn
Title: Heartstopper
Release date: 2022
This series is available on Netflix.