Netflix Renews Romantic Comedy Series for 2 More Seasons

By Anna Rumer

Netflix is giving a rare two-season renewal to buzzy coming-of-age romantic comedy Heartstopper. The streamer announced the half-hour show adapted from Alice Oseman's graphic novel had been renewed for a second and third season Friday after the series spent three weeks in Netflix's weekly global Top 10 rankings of English-language series since its April 22 debut, reaching No. 5 on the list. 

In the eight episodes of Season 1, Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and classmate Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) meet while at secondary school and find out that their friendship is blossoming into an unexpected romance. Charlie, Nick and their friends — Tao (William Gao), Elle (Yasmin Finney), Tara (Corinna Brown), Darcy (Kizzy Edgell) and Isaac (Tobie Donovan) — then have to embark on a journey of self-discovery, self-acceptance and living life as their most authentic selves.

While Heartstopper didn't take over the Top 10 like smash hits Ozark and Bridgerton, it has been praised for its depiction of LGBTQ storylines and comes in as one of Netflix's best-reviewed series with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes making it "certified fresh." The show has also dominated social media, topping Twitter trends and amassing over 4.3 billion views with its TikTok hashtag. Connor and Locke have also exploded on social media, going from just over 100,000 followers on Instagram apiece to more than 3.4 million for Connor and 2.5 million for Locke after the premiere, as per Netflix. 

Heartstopper has also sparked a new wave of sales for the original graphic novel, with weekly U.S. sales jumping 1,700%, according to NPD BookScan. Volume 1 of the novel is currently the No.1 young adult fiction book in the U.S. and is featured on the New York Times bestseller list.

The series renewal sparked a passionate response on Twitter from fans. "IM GONNA CRY!" one excited fan tweeted in response, as another thanked Oseman "for putting something wonderful and beautiful into the universe" and Netflix "for recognizing it and giving it room to grow."

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