Older Heartstopper fans celebrate its depiction of young queer love

Older Heartstopper fans have expressed their admiration over the show’s depiction of young queer relationships.

After months of waiting, Netflix‘s hit teen series Heartstopper has returned to the platform for a romantic and drama filled sophomore season.

The show follows a group of British teenagers as they navigate the world of school, love, friendship, and everything inbetween.

However, what sets Heartstopper apart from other teen-centric shows is that most of its leading characters are queer or part of the LGBTQ+ community. Because of this, a lot of older viewers have taken to social media to praise the show for its depiction of young queer love. Warning: slight spoilers ahead!

Older viewers praise Heartstopper for showing young queer love

The first season of the show mostly focused on the relationship between shy Charlie Spring and popular rugby player Nick Nelson. Its first outing showed the ups and down when it comes to finding your first love in high school and how scary it can be to come out to the world around you.

Heartstopper Season 2 still focuses Nick and Charlie, but expands the world by shining a light on other queer couples in their friend group. The relationships they focus on are between Tao Xu, Charlie’s best friend, and Elle Argent, Charlie’s other friend who came out as transgender, and Tara Jones and Darcy Olsson, Elle’s friends who are dating.

The show also introduces an asexual character in the form of Isaac Henderson, another member of their friend group, and a potential relationship between Imogen Heaney, Nick’s friend, and Sahar Zahid, a new student at their school.

Netflix

It’s very rare to see such a colorful cast of young queer characters in one show. For the most part, queer led shows are mostly set in college/the adult world.

Because of this representation, older queer viewers have taken to Twitter to show their love and support for Heartstopper’s depiction of young queer love. Below are some of the best reactions:

How it felt being an adult who never experienced young queer love, watching Heartstopper season 2 pic.twitter.com/7EOYJt1kWm

— Zack (@Zack3O12) August 5, 2023

thinking about heartstopper and how important scenes like this are going to be for young queer peoplewhen i was growing up, queerness on screen was always sexy or tragic. i wish i’d got to see just two teenagers falling in love for the first time 🥺 pic.twitter.com/J1E6BOIVPq

— fran 🦊 (@oi_halfway) August 6, 2023

all young queer people deserve a love like this pic.twitter.com/Up5qVSjLs4

— blake | heartstopper spoilers (@springIvr) August 4, 2023

started Heartstopper and it’s actually really cute but i’m cryin at the fact i’ll never experience the feeling of queer highschool love yet alone have an experience of teenage love in general pic.twitter.com/8tlkq1uqhk

— randi ☆ (@ultralovedeluxe) August 4, 2023

I’m already on my third viewing of #Heartstopper season 2 and still, when I try to sum up how it makes me feel, my heart wants to explode with emotion and joy. It’s queer storytelling done to perfection and represents everything queer youth deserve and queer adults should’ve had. pic.twitter.com/HidQHs1P9B

— Em 🌈 (@EmilyJBashforth) August 6, 2023

It’s easy to see why fans are hoping that Heartstopper is just the beginning in a long line of shows and movies focused on queer kids just living their normal lives.

Heartstopper Seasons 1 & 2 are available to stream on Netflix now. You can check out some of our other Netflix hubs below: 

The Night Agent Season 2 | The Gentlemen | Sex Education Season 4 | Beef Season 2 | Monster Season 2 | Will there be Ginny and Georgia Season 3? | All the Light We Cannot See | Stranger Things Season 5 | The Witcher Season 3 | Chicken Run 2 | Heartstopper Season 2 | Florida Man Season 2 | Obsession Season 2 | The Sandman Season 2