There is finally news for Heartstopper fans who have been patiently waiting to learn the fate of their show for more than six months. It may not be exactly what they were hoping for (Season 4), but it’s good news nevertheless: more Heartstopper is on the way, and Nick and Charlie’s story will get a proper ending.
Netflix has greenlighted a Heartstopper movie, starring and executive produced by the series’ leads Joe Locke and Kit Connor and directed by Wash Westmoreland (Still Alice, Colette), which will serve as a series finale. The announcement was made on the third anniversary of Heartstopper‘s April 22, 2002 series premiere.
Heartstopper creator Alice Oseman, on whose graphic books the coming-of-age romantic series was based, is back as writer of the feature film, which will draw from the upcoming sixth and final volume of the graphic novel. (Season 1 covered Vol. 1-2, Season 2 was based on Vol. 3, and Season 4 followed Vol. 4 and 5.)
There is no publish date yet for Vol. 6, which is still being written. Oseman has indicated that ideally, the last book would drop ahead of the TV series’ conclusion.
In the Heartsopper finale, Nick (Connor) and Charlie (Locke) are inseparable, but with Nick preparing to leave for university and Charlie finding new independence at school, the reality of a long-distance relationship begins to weigh on them. Doubts take hold, and their relationship faces its biggest challenge yet. Meanwhile, their friends are also navigating the ups and downs of love and friendship, confronting the bittersweet challenges of growing up and moving on. Can first loves really last forever?
Westmoreland, who has an extensive feature background, succeeds Euros Lyn, who directed the first two seasons of Heartstopper, and Andy Newbery, who helmed Season 3.
Locke and Connor join the executive producer ranks of the movie alongside Oseman, Lyn, Patrick Walters, Iain Canning and Emile Sherman who all served as executive producers on the first three seasons. See-Saw Films is back as production company. Filming is slated to begin in summer 2025.
“I am completely overjoyed that we will get to tell the end of the Heartstopper story,” Oseman said. “I’m so grateful to everyone who has worked hard to make this possible and to the incredible fans of Heartstopper for your patience and passion. I cannot wait to bring this story to a magical conclusion.”
While rare, a movie series finale is not unprecedented – in 2017, Netflix commissioned a Sense8 film following backlash from fans when the streamer canceled the Wachowskis’ sci-fi drama after two seasons on a cliffhanger. Other shows given a movie conclusion by their networks include Timeless (NBC), CSI (CBS) and Deadwood (HBO).
Like most of them, Heartstopper found itself on the bubble after its third season drew 10.9 million views from its October 3 release until the end of 2024, down about 30% from the views Season 2 had garnered over the same period. Season 3 spent two weeks in Netflix’s global Top 10, peaking at No. 4, vs. three weeks each for Seasons 1 and 2, the latter peaking at No. 2.
Still, over the last six months of 2024, the first two seasons of Heartstopper added combined 8.8M views, showing continuing interest in the title on the platform.
What’s more, Season 3 was as well reviewed as the previous ones, nabbing another 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and continued to keep the series culturally relevant by tackling important issues, in this case mental health.
Most of all, it was Heartstopper‘s outsized impact across TV, social media, music and books and its legacy of LGBTQ+ representation that made the case for the show to get a proper ending even if the Season 3 viewership did not quite support a full-blown fourth and final season.
(L-R) Kit Connor and Joe Locke star in ‘Heartstopper’
Netflix
The movie greenlight follows tireless efforts by the series’ creative team.
“I’m working very hard behind the scenes to get us a renewal for Heartstopper… there are so many people behind the scenes who are working really hard to make it happen,” Oseman said in February. “We’re feeling optimistic, we’re feeling hopeful.”
A month later, Walters said that “there are lots of moving parts” on a potential renewal and “we are working hard on it.”
One of the many moving parts was likely making new deals with Connor and Locke, who reportedly no longer had options. Little known when they were cast in Heartstopper, the duo are now in-demand actors with busy schedules coming off starring roles in the movie Warfare (Connor) and Disney+’s Agatha All Along (Locke).
But, just like the cast of Euphoria recently reassembled for a final season, Connor and Locke had been willing to return to the series that made them stars.
“I’d definitely like to do it as long as it’s done right,” Connor recently said. “I just want to make sure that we keep the heart in it. So, we are working on something, and hopefully we’re making it happen.”
