Spoilers below for Hearstopper season 2.
Fear not, Heartstopper is coming back for more. Netflix’s swoonworthy adaptation of Alice Oseman’s graphic novels has just returned for a second season, but a third is already on the horizon. Luckily, there will be more to explore with Nick and Charlie (especially after season 2’s texting cliffhanger), and their beloved friends as they continue to navigate love, relationships, adolescence, and identity. Here’s what to know.
Was Heartstopper renewed for season 3?
Yes! In May 2022, Netflix announced that the series would be renewed for two more seasons, meaning a third season is already in the books. However, it’s unclear when production will begin, or when the next chapter will be released. (Though, given that finale cliffhanger, we hope it’s soon.)
Who will be in the cast?
The full list and additional cast members have yet to be announced, but the season 2 cast consisted of: Kit Connor (Nick), Joe Locke (Charlie), Yasmin Finney (Elle), William Gao (Tao), Corinna Brown (Tara), Kizzy Edgell (Darcy), Sebastian Croft (Ben), Tobie Donovan (Isaac), Rhea Norwood (Imogen), Jenny Walser (Tori), Cormac Hyde-Corrin (Harry), and Olivia Colman (Sarah, Nick’s mother).
What will season 3 be about?
Season 2 sets up some plot points to be explored in the next chapter.
The season ends on an eventful prom night with the Truham and Higgs kids. Nick comes out as bi on Instagram, revealing that Charlie is his boyfriend, and they attend together. After revealing she hasn’t come out to her parents, Darcy finally tells Tara that she loves her, and Tara reiterates her love right back. Tao and Elle officially become boyfriend-girlfriend, but she tells him that she wants to go to Lambert art school. After dealing with his insecurities all season, he respects her decision. Maybe next season will further explore how the best-friends-turned-partners handle being a long-distance couple.
This past season saw Isaac explore his asexuality, ending with him borrowing the Ace book from the school library. It’s likely we’ll see more of his exploration next season. “We get a sense [that] this is not an easy realization to come to, and there’s complexity to come,” executive producer and director Euros Lyn previously told ELLE.com.
And by the way, did anyone else catch the way Imogen looked at Sahar? Perhaps her sudden crush will grow into something deeper next season.
At the end of prom night, after all their friends leave Nick’s house, Nick and Charlie have an intimate conversation about Charlie’s experience bullying and his eating disorder. Charlie reveals that someone overheard Tao saying Charlie came out, and led people to ridicule him in vile ways. The bullying was so insidious that it led Charlie to self-hate and he began harming himself, though he assures Nick that he doesn’t do that anymore. Nick comforts Charlie and has him promise to tell him if he ever feels that badly again. They embrace through tears. After their conversation, Charlie heads home, feeling safe, supported, and blissfully in love. He is so smitten that he writes a DM to Nick saying “I love you”—a big step!—but he doesn’t hit send yet. His thumb just hovers over the send button. It seems like season 3 is ramping up to be about whether—and how—Charlie tells Nick he loves him, and vice versa.
Besotted teachers Mr. Farouk and Mr. Ajayi will also return to go on a date next season. “We will a hundred percent see more of Mr. Farouk and Mr. Ajayi in season 3,” executive producer Patrick Walters told ELLE. “I would say that those two are a perfect couple, and there’s gonna be lots of very funny, odd couple chemistry with the two of them.”
This story will be updated.