How The Writers Strike Affects Heartstopper Season 3, Explained
Heartstopper fans can relax. For now.
Netflix's Heartstopper just premiered its second season in August, and fans are already clamoring for more romantic storylines between Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) and their friends and schoolmates.
There was a 15-month hiatus between the show's first two seasons, and if production on the LGBTQ+ series picks up, the best we can hope for is a summer premiere of Season 3 next year. But is that release date realistic in the midst of the Hollywood strikes that have already delayed many popular projects?
Not directly affected by strikes
Heartstopper is a UK-based project written by Alice Oseman, the British creator of the graphic novels that became the basis for the show. The Netflix adaptation is produced by the British-Australian company See-Saw Films and starring British actors.
This means that Heartstopper is not subject to the actions of the WGA or SAG-AFTRA, since both unions are American-based and mostly affect Hollywood writers and actors.
Season 3 production confirmed
Alice Oseman confirmed earlier this year that Season 3 was in the works in the midst of the writers' strike.
'I'm hard at work this summer writing the scripts for Season 3 of the Heartstopper TV show,' she wrote on her Instagram page on July 19, almost three months into the strike.
Moreover, director Euros Lyn told BBC Wales last month, when the SAG-AFTRA strike was already in full swing, that production on the new season would begin shortly after the interview, meaning that the show's cast would be able to participate in filming.
'Season 3 has been commissioned already, we're very excited and are due to start work on it soon,' Lyn said.
So it looks like Heartstopper Season 3 is moving forward on schedule, and fans can breathe a sigh of relief and relax as they wait for the next chapter of their favorite show to be released next year.
Could the strikes still affect Heartstopper?
The Hollywood strikes have thrown the industry into disarray, and there is no way of knowing when the writers and actors will be able to reach an agreement with production studios.
While Heartstopper uses British unions that are not directly affected by the strikes, Netflix is definitely an affected company. So if the strikes last long into 2024, all of its show premieres, including Heartstopper, could be affected.
Hopefully, the agreements will be signed long before the summer of 2024, and Heartstopper will treat us to a new Charlie-Nick story without delays.