At long last, Heartstopper returns for its third season, and with it comes many changes in the lives of its young (soon-to-be-actual) lovers, Nick and Charlie. While they’ve only aged about a year since we first met them, the actors who portray them, Kit Connor and Joe Locke, respectively, have grown and matured significantly, as Connor is quick to point out. “We’re all a little bit more experienced, and we’re generally another year older and slightly, slightly, slightly, wiser.. and that hopefully sort of comes across in our performances,” he jokes to PRIDE.
Yes, they’re older, but being on a hit show that blossomed into booming careers in TV, film, and stage is not only life-altering, but naturally it would make one grow up quickly. All of that maturity, all of that experience, all of that personal reflection, is something Locke says he’s channeled into his performance this season. “We’ve all changed a lot since the first season came out, you know, because of the show and as people as well. We’re aging faster than Nick and Charlie were initially. They’re, like, only a year older than they were when we first met them,” Locke tells PRIDE. “I’ve gone from feeling very parallel to Charlie to almost feeling like an older figure looking down on him now, which is a strange dynamic shift I didn’t quite expect.”
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The timing could not be better, as season three explores increasingly mature themes that the actors feel more prepared to take on this time around. “We have grown and matured slightly faster than the characters,’ Connor notes thoughtfully, “it also means that we have brought a certain level of maturity in our performances — and obviously we look a lot different every time we come back,” he adds with a wry smile.
“Yeah... in a weird way, it’s like sending your kids off into the wild. It’s weird,” adds Locke.
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Perhaps Conner is just referring to how quickly they’ve grown up in front of us — or maybe it’s a nod to the fact that Connor is seemingly embracing his twunk era. Whatever the case may be, one thing is clear, and it’s that both actors feel more at ease and comfortable in their roles, and their chemistry both on screen and off is sweet and palpable. It’s thanks in part to how close the cast gets to be during shooting.
When asked about their favorite moments while filming this year, Locke can’t pin it down to just one. “The whole filming experience,” he says. “We all live in the same apartment block. We all have dinner with each other every night. So it sort of becomes like one big, long trip together, which is really nice. I think going into this season, we were already so close so that only got stronger throughout the shooting period.”
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It also meant that some of the biggest moments they’ve experienced this year happened while they were together. “I was there when Joe got the call that he was going to be in Sweeney Todd, and that was really special,” recalls Connor. “[During season two’s filming] we were there when you found out that you were going to be in Marvel. We’ve all kind of experienced each other’s careers blooming...we’ve all kind of been there to see each other grow.”
Speaking of Marvel, Locke is currently starring in the delightfully queer (and just plain delightful) Agatha All Along, a role determined Marvel-hater Charlie Spring would scoff at — and does repeatedly with a running gag about his lack of appreciation for all things superhero. Has that gotten back to the brass at Marvel? Locke says at least one person on the Agatha team is aware: showrunner Jac Schaeffer. “I remember when Jac watched season two and saw the Marvel joke she sent me a text saying that she laughed out loud because she loved it. Really funny,” he recalls.
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Nick’s love of Marvel and Charlie’s teasing destain is just one of those quirks that makes Nick and Charlie so fully realized and human. That humanity and the complexity of it is on full display in season three. This time around, we see Charlie and Nick’s relationship evolve and grow both emotionally and physically, including in the much-anticipated love scene, as the boys’ (and other couples’) romance and connection naturally progress. Anytime the fullness of queer love is presented with such thoughtfulness, nuance, and tenderness, it’s a win for queer representation.
We love queer joy — however, what continues to make Heartstopper such an incredible series is how well it navigates the delicate balance of showing that, while also depicting the struggles that many young queer people face, whether it be bullying, forced outing, familial estrangement, or, in the case of Charlie this season, a struggle with body image that has continued to escalate.
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In the second season, it became increasingly clear that Charlie is struggling with his relationship with food, a battle that is all too familiar for queer folks of all ages. This season, the series delves even deeper into both how those difficulties manifest in his life and the underlying trauma that led to them. “Charlie’s mental health storyline is definitely a tricky one to do,” says Locke. “We all wanted to do it with the most respect and authenticity possible. And it’s a really hard thing to talk about, but a very necessary thing to do, and you can never please everyone, but I really hope that we have managed to do it with the most respect.”
On the flip side, we see the impact that can have on the loved ones around him, including, of course, Nick. “He’s just really there to try to support Charlie and be there for him. He wants to try and just protect them from any danger in the world and anything that might sort of pose him [harm] or cause him pain,” Connor explains. “That’s a very human, very familiar feeling for a lot of people. So I was thinking back to my own life and then you when you’re concerned about someone that you love.”
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At its core, Heartstopper is a series about empathy, imperfection, acceptance, love — and sometimes the pain that comes with all of those things. Yes, it’s also wish fulfillment for all those queer kids out there who crave that sweeping high school romance, and queer adults who remember that time with an aching nostalgia. But it’s also a promise of a future where a story like Charlie and Nick’s wouldn’t feel so revelatory. I could just be the incredibly sweet and well-done coming of age and first love tale that it is. Until that day, season three is a great reminder of why we are so grateful it exists at all.
Heartstopper season three is streaming now on Netflix.
