The third season of “Heartstopper” was released on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024.
“Heartstopper” is an LGBTQ-based series, aired on Netflix in 2022. Alice Oseman, the creator of the show and book series under the same name, follows the brother of Victoria Spring, the main character of Oseman’s first book “Solitaire.”
The television series shows LGBTQ characters, including transgender, gay, lesbian, bisexual, nonbinary, asexual and aromantic characters. While the series focuses on Charlie Spring and Nickolas Nelson, other characters are highlighted.
“Heartstopper” shows the journey of being in the community, both good and bad. Touching on heavier topics such as bullying, mental health and grief, the expectations for accurate representation have been high.
The importance of having queer representation in the media has only been more outspoken within the past decade, especially with younger audiences. Having representation and exposure is important. In younger years, such as middle school and high school, having an accurate representation of the queer community and the process of understanding oneself is important.
While there have been disagreements over the years about young audiences’ exposure to the LGBTQ community, it is important to not disregard the good having that exposure can bring.
Figuring yourself out is one of the huge things that overwhelms young teens at this point in their lives. According to Arizona State University, it is easy to feel disconnected from who you are as a young person in the queer community without proper representation. As a society, we thrive upon relating to others. Without that common connection, it’s easy to feel confused and alone.
This is why the wide and accurate variety of “Heartstopper” is so important to LGBTQ youth. The cast is comprised of those who are comfortable with their identities and have gone through similar experiences. Kizzy Edgell, the actor of Darcy, came out as nonbinary. Instead of keeping their character a female presenting individual, the team worked it into the script and created a great plotline to make them feel more comfortable in the role they were playing.
However, this is unexpected in the film industry. It seems right on target with the whole point of “Heartstopper” to begin with. It is a story about members of the queer community figuring out who they are. Oseman and the rest of the crew for “Heartstopper” gave Edgell the chance to have their character discover themselves through their own experiences.
Each season focuses on a difficult topic that creators and characters must research outside of film hours to properly execute fragile issues such as eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder and transphobia—all three topics covered in season three.
“Heartstopper” continues to focus on queer representation and its importance in the media. Having someone or something to relate to is an important part of self-discovery. In the coming seasons and graphic novels, I can only hope that even more topics in the community will be covered. For now, I give “Heartstopper” a 9/10.