Heartstopper creator Alice Oseman has updated on the YA series’ movie finale – and there’s still a little while to wait before it drops on Netflix.
Speaking this afternoon at the London Book Fair at the Kensington Olympia, the show’s creator – who also writes and illustrates the graphic novels on which it is based – said Heartstopper Forever will not drop before the final book in her series releases on July 2.
Answering a Deadline-submitted question about a launch date during a Q&A session, Oseman replied: “It won’t be coming out before the book. It was so important to me that the book comes out first, so people can experience the end of the story in the book. The series was the adaptation, not the other way around.”
The series as been credited for its outsized impact on across TV, social media, music and books and its dedication to LGBTQ+ representation. With a particularly dedicated novel following, Oseman has previously said her preference is for the novel to drop before Heartstopper Forever.
Filming on Wash Westmoreland movie wrapped last year in July, and it is now nearing post-production completion.
“We are literally days away from it being finished,” said Oseman. “We are doing the final little bits of VFX and animation, and hopefully by the end of next week is going to be sent to be dubbed in various languages and quality-checked by Netflix, but my work on it will be done.”
Heartstopper follows the queer love story of British students Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor), as they grow into young men. The series is based on Oseman’s graphic novel series of the same name, and first launched on Netflix in 2022.
Plot details on the finale pic are being kept secret, but the summary for the book provides some insight: “Everyone in school knows Nick and Charlie. Everyone knows they’re going to be together forever. But Charlie’s busy with his bid to become head boy. And while Nick is preparing to leave for uni, he’s starting to wonder who he’ll be… without Charlie.”
Here’s everything we know about the streaming movie right now.
The See Saw Films-produced series concluded following its run after three seasons last year. The show is among a tranche of young-adult dramas that continue to drive streaming viewing among younger demographics. Despite critical acclaim, ratings were down about 30% for the third season, doubt was cast on Season 4 and the movie was later ordered in lieu of a full run.
Oseman, whose other YA novels including Solitaire, Radio Silence and I Was Born For This!, is heavily involved with the Heartstopper adaptation. She recalled pitching the series into Netflix alongside Patrick Walters, the See-Saw TV exec who recently joined A24, with the concept that there was “a gap in the market” for a YA series about a young, queer male couple. “Netflix were probably excited about that,” she added.
Oseman had initially self-published the Heartstopper novels after securing funding via Kickstarter. The books, which are part of a series of four novels, were subsequently published by Hachette Children’s Group earlier this year. Her keynote interview at the LBF was met warmly by a packed audience, as she was named the event’s Creative of the Fair and received a YA Book Prize Special Achievement Award from industry trade title The Bookseller.
The LBF began today in London and runs until Thursday (March 12). The Fair will next year move to the ExCel Centre on the other side of London.
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