Heartstopper
ハートストッパー
Storyline
The whole story, ending included.
Two schoolboys and an animated leaf; the tenderest depiction of a first kiss on a streaming service.
Charlie Spring was outed as gay at Truham Grammar School the year before and has been bullied since; he is also in a secret, unhappy relationship with Ben Hope, who ignores him in public. In a new form room he is seated next to Nick Nelson, a year older, a kind and popular rugby player. They become friends, and Charlie falls for him, sure that Nick is straight. Nick, reaching for Charlie's hand while he sleeps, begins to wonder. When Ben forces a kiss on Charlie, Nick pulls him away. At a party they kiss; Nick panics and leaves, then turns up at Charlie's door in the rain. By the end of the first series Nick thinks he may be bisexual, Charlie has confronted Ben about his abusive treatment, and Nick has come out to his mother, who accepts him. Around them their friends find their own way: protective Tao; Elle, a trans girl who has moved to the girls' school; Tara and Darcy, a couple there; and Isaac, always reading.
In the second series Nick comes out step by step: to friends, on a school trip to Paris in a game of truth or dare, to his father at a tense family dinner where he also stands up to his bullying brother, and finally on Instagram. Tao and Elle become a couple; Isaac realises he is asexual; Darcy leaves home after a row with a homophobic mother. After the prom Charlie tells Nick that the bullying once led him to self-harm, and on the way home he types a message telling Nick that he loves him.
The third series turns on Charlie's illness. He says it to Nick through a bathroom door, and Nick says it back; but Nick has noticed that Charlie is not eating, and while Nick is away on holiday Charlie admits he may have an eating disorder. He gets worse, self-harms again, and agrees to go into an inpatient clinic, where he is diagnosed with anorexia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. He comes home in December and recovers slowly, through a hard family Christmas, therapy and a relapse. In spring he and Nick sleep together for the first time. Isaac tells his friends he is asexual and aromantic, Darcy comes out as non-binary, and Tao and Elle say they love each other. In the last episode Nick visits universities and finds he prefers Leeds, hours away from Charlie, who is a year behind him at school; Tara chooses a gap year over Oxford; and Charlie's parents let him stay the night at Nick's. The story was concluded in a feature-length film, Heartstopper Forever, released in July 2026.
Starring
Joe Lockeas Charlie Spring
A gay schoolboy bullied since he was outed, who falls for the rugby player at the next desk and later struggles with an eating disorder.
Charlie Spring’s story
Charlie is secretly seeing Ben, who ignores him in public. When he tries to end it, Ben forces a kiss on him and Nick pulls Ben away. Charlie falls for Nick; when Nick, after their first kiss, turns up at his door in the rain, Charlie tells him he does not need to tell anyone, and waits for him. He stands up to Ben. After the prom he tells Nick that the bullying once led him to self-harm; in the summer he tells him he loves him. Then he stops eating, denies it, and admits he may have an eating disorder. He self-harms again, goes into an inpatient clinic and is diagnosed with anorexia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Home by Christmas, he recovers slowly, through therapy and a relapse, and in the spring his teachers put him forward for head boy.
Kit Connoras Nick Nelson
A popular rugby player a year above Charlie, who realises he is bisexual and comes out one person at a time.
Nick Nelson’s story
Nick is kind to Charlie from the first morning at the next desk. He pulls Ben away from him and begins to wonder about himself; after their first kiss he panics and leaves, then turns up at Charlie's door in the rain. He works out that he may be bisexual and comes out to his mother, who accepts him, then to his friends, on a school trip to Paris, to his father and his bullying older brother at a family dinner, and online. He sees that Charlie is not eating, and persuades him to tell his parents and get help; while Charlie is in the clinic, he breaks down at a party. In the last episode he tours universities and prefers Leeds, hours from Charlie.
William Gaoas Tao Xu
Charlie's fiercely protective best friend, afraid of losing people, who falls in love with Elle.
Yasmin Finneyas Elle Argent
A trans girl who has moved to the girls' school and wins a place at an art school, and Tao's girlfriend.
Corinna Brownas Tara Jones
A girl at the girls' school, out and in love with Darcy, who is anxious about her future.
Kizzy Edgellas Darcy Olsson
Tara's exuberant partner, who leaves a homophobic home and comes to understand themself as non-binary.
Why it matters
Heartstopper gives queer teenagers a story in which being who they are does not end in tragedy, and reviewers praised its warm, affirming portrait of LGBTQ+ youth. Coming out is shown as something that happens again and again, to friends, to a father, online. Bisexuality is named and taken seriously, and the friendship group includes a trans girl finding her feet at a new school, a boy who discovers he is asexual and aromantic, and a character who comes to a non-binary identity, a storyline Alice Oseman said grew out of conversations with the actor Kizzy Edgell about their own experience. As the characters grow up the series does not stay sweet. It follows a teenage boy through anorexia, self-harm and an inpatient clinic, and treats the question of when to have sex as one of readiness and care. What it leaves is a picture of young people learning to look after each other.