Netflix adapting gay webcomic ‘Heartstopper’ into live action series
Alice Oseman's popular gay comic follows two teens who start a friendship and end up falling in love
Netflix has commissioned an eight-part live action series based on popular gay webcomic Heartstopper.
Alice Oseman’s comic, launched in 2016 and eventually published in graphic novels in 2018, follows lead characters Charlie and Nick, two teens who become friends in school and ultimately develop romantic feelings for one another.
Alexi Wheeler, director of Kids & Family Content for Netflix EMEA, praised Oseman for creating “brilliant and emotional engaging characters” whose world is “relatable yet somehow aspirational.”
“The whole thing is just so poignant and beautifully crafted,” Wheeler said in a statement. To tell a love story between two boys who meet at school involves such vision and creative focus, Alice has absolutely delivered this here.”
Wheeler described Oseman’s comics as “beautiful and compulsive reads laced with a unique style” and “emotional tension.”
“I am so proud to be championing Charlie and Nick’s story,” Wheeler said. “We care deeply that all young people see themselves reflected in our content, and are hopeful that many people, whatever their age or identity, will see themselves in this bold and uplifting series.:
Oseman will be adapting the comics and writing the eight commissioned episodes for Netflix, with Euros Lyn (His Dark Materials, Daredevil, Doctor Who) set to direct.
Heartstopper is being produced by See-Saw Films, which produced the Academy Award-winning The Kings Speech and Francis Lee’s upcoming period lesbian drama Ammonite.
Oseman shared in a tweet that she had been working on adapting the comic for “a couple of years now” and had been developing scripts for “over a year.”
Speaking to Deadline, Oseman said that she felt “incredibly lucky to get to work with a team of passionate, creative people who all adore Heartstopper and want to make it the most beautiful show we can.”
She added: “It’s a joy and an honor to get to re-tell Nick and Charlie’s story for TV and I am so excited to share it not only with Heartstopper’s existing readership, but also a whole new audience around the world.”
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