“Heartstopper” is a book that was originally created in 2016 by a 22-year-old named Alice Oseman. On February 7, 2019, the book was finally published.

In an interview that happened on June 8, Buzzfeed asked, “You started publishing your webcomic back in 2016, how does it feel to now be at the helm of your own Netflix series?”

Oseman responded with, “It’s very strange! I guess it’s been quite a gradual journey, from self-publishing the book in 2016, to having it published traditionally a couple of years later, and now the Netflix show — it’s just been so fun and exciting! I love ‘Heartstopper’ and it’s always been a passion project and something that’s very dear to my heart. I’m just very grateful and I’m having a great time!”

When I first saw the trailer for “Heartstopper,” I was very interested right away and was debating whether or not I should watch it. The main person that convinced me to start watching the show is my friend, Eli Hammond. He kept rambling about it on his Instagram story and so I got more interested based off the things he pointed out.

When I saw the first episode of season 1, I was instantly hooked to the show. We don’t really get a lot of LGBTQ+ shows on Netflix, so when me and other people in the LGBTQ+ community saw the trailer, you bet we were extremely excited for it. What I liked the most about this show was how it slowly explained Charlie’s and Nick’s relationship together, going from strangers, to friends, to best friends, to a crush, and then to boyfriends. It isn’t rushed or anything like most stories I’ve seen, and I like that a lot.

When I asked Hammond his opinion of season 1, he stated, “The first season of Heartstopper was amazing, its one of the biggest shows right now for Queer Youth. Queer Youth need this, especially with the politics going around now, the younger generation need to see stuff like this. Shows like this have come a long way for people accepting themselves, and the representation for Nick was beautiful. I love the representation in this show, it’s outstanding, from finding yourself all of the way to a POC trans woman. As someone who has read the series, the second season is exciting to bring in more representation for serious matters when it comes down to bullying, homophobia, and mental health problems entirely. I’m looking forward to seeing this stuff on screen to bring more awareness to it. I, by far, love the series so much more.”

I recently found out my other friend Moss Evans, also watched the first season, so of course, I asked him his opinion of the show as well.

“How did I feel about the first season? It felt really amazing and showed that no matter what your sexuality is you have friends to back you up and protect you from others,” Evans said. “What made me enjoy the show so much? It doesn’t focus on two guys that are in love, it also focuses on other characters in the show also showing their story. I am excited for the second season and I can’t wait because I want to see what will happen next and how the story of the show will go.”

“Heartstopper” season 2 will most likely be released in 2023, and fans are already getting excited for it. Are you excited for season 2? If you haven’t watched season 1 yet, do you plan on it? Let me know! <3