Heartstopper Creator Alice Oseman Previews One Couple’s Season 3 ‘Summer of Romance,’ Struggles Aplenty for Two Other Pairs
Charlie Mason
Editor
We never ask why we are like this when it comes to Heartstopper spoilers. As addicted as we are to Netflix’s tender LGBTQ+ romance, we know exactly why we are the way we are. So needless to say, when given the chance to speak with creator Alice Oseman ahead of Season 3 (which drops on Thursday, Oct. 3), we take full advantage of the opportunity to pepper her with questions about what lies ahead for our favorite couples. Read on to see what she had to say…
TVLINE | We know that this is going to be a very rough season for Charlie in terms of his mental health, and Nick will of course want to be there for him. But that is also going to be hard on Nick. Is there any room for Charlie to support him?
Absolutely. That’s where the story goes toward the end of the season. Obviously, a big bulk of these episodes is very focused on Charlie’s mental-health journey. Certainly, we do see Nick struggling with that throughout but also struggling with his own identity in some ways, wondering who he is and the usual sort of teenage questions. Who am I? What do I want to do with my life?
TVLINE | Nick kind of literally has to decide, and soon.
Right. This season, we also start to see the characters think about life post-school, applying to university and things like that. And suddenly, we see Nick sort of realize, “I have no idea who I am.” The dynamic suddenly starts to swing the other way, with Nick starting to struggle a little bit more than maybe we realized and Charlie being there for him.
TVLINE | Tao and Elle had so many false starts before they finally got together. What is their relationship like now?
When we start, they’re having very much a summer of romance. They’re in that honeymoon period where they’re just so obsessed with each other, to the point where maybe they are ignoring their friends a bit, which causes tensions within the group. We start to realize that even though they are so happy to be together, they’re also each dealing with a lot of their own insecurities and maybe not being able to share them. So the journey for them this season is all about learning to open up in a slightly deeper way and letting each other into their own fears that they’re not really sharing and, because of that, growing closer as a couple.
TVLINE | Tara and Darcy are almost like the old married couple of Heartstopper. What kind of surprises are in store for them? Do we follow up on Darcy’s issues with her homophobic mother?
Yeah, we’ll pick up where we left off and see what Darcy’s living situation is at the moment and how that develops through the season. Darcy has sort of a personal journey of identity to go on this season. I don’t really want to spoil anything about that, because I think it’s very nice to watch unfold. But that will be a big topic. Meanwhile, Tara is, like Nick, sort of struggling with the idea of her future and what she wants to do and feeling a lot of outside pressure from all the various things in her life. So they’ve each got their own little journeys to go on.
What are you hoping for from Heartstopper Season 3 — aside from a Season 4, 5 and 6 renewal? Hit the comments.
