After becoming one of Netflix’s biggest hits of recent years with its debut season in 2022, its fair to say that expectations for Heartstopper’s second series have been high.
We’d been teased with minor plot details for the forthcoming episodes, but ahead of the series’ release next week, critics have had their first look – and it’s fair to say they are impressed.
Heartstopper season two – which will see Charlie and Nick as they navigate the challenges of being a couple, as their friendship group prepare for prom and head off to Paris on a school trip – has been met with near unanimous positive reviews so far, with commentators praising the “bolder, braver” episodes and the way the the show has retained the “joyful” tone that made the first series such a success.
Here’s what the critics have been saying...
Metro – 5 stars
“While season one was a relatively straightforward love story, season two feels bolder and braver. The characters are all richer with complexities and torment but each is explored with the same tenderness and charm which keeps Heartstopper full of hope and promise.
“Subsequently, the cast has really grown to become true talent to be excited for.”
Radio Times – 4 stars
“Honestly, I didn’t expect to be writing a positive review of Heartstopper season 2. I’d become quite entrenched in my lukewarm opinion of the show, with the behaviour of certain fans only encouraging me to dig deeper. Given the enormous success of the first outing, the creatives involved could have easily justified delivering more of the same – which I would have inevitably reciprocated.
“Instead, they went to great efforts to build on what came before. This is quite simply a more considered and better-paced season of television, which could certainly convert others who found the first outing overly simplistic.”
NME – 4 stars
“It’s the kind of show you know will make people feel less alone; pure bottled joy and a restorative tonic in these turbulent times.”
Collider – A rating
“If you’ve been craving a layered, heartfelt, sweet romance, Heartstopper is definitely the show for you — and if it doesn’t make you feel some degree of happiness, you’re probably dead inside.”
“Nick Nelson (Kit Connor – who gives a strong performance this season) struggles with the pressure of coming out publicly as bisexual. Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) struggles with opening up generally, but especially with his mental health, even with Nick. Connor and Locke confidently manage to amp up their emotional performances as young lovers with many a tender and intimate moment between the two.”
“This next chapter of the story perfectly balances the line between depicting the not-always-perfect journey of needing to continuously come out, while still prioritising the queer joy that the show has become known for, not allowing itself to get too caught up in trauma while not brushing it under the carpet either.”
“Heartstopper’s second season is a triumphant, joyful, and nuanced evolution of the series, further developing its beloved characters, creating a safe, supportive, but realistic space to consider the complexities of coming out and exploring your identity, and importantly, reminding viewers that you don’t have to have everything figured out for your feelings to be valid.”