Why Heartstopper Should End After Four Seasons
It's still believable that they're teenagers. For now.
The romantic teen comedy-drama Heartstopper is now one of Netflix's juggernauts, a top favorite on the platform. The fact that the Alice Oseman-helmed adaptation received a double renewal for a second and third season after a successful freshman run is a testament to its importance to the service itself, given Netflix's unpredictability.
However, three seasons is not enough to cover all the events of the graphic novel and webcomic.
'It would probably be four seasons to cover the full story. I haven't done any in-detail planning or anything, but it's quite easy to divide up the books into seasons, so four I think would do it,' Oseman said.
But regardless of the creator's own plans, there are enough reasons why ending Heartstopper after four seasons isn't a bad idea.
Story-wise Reason
Pop culture is littered with examples of shows that became unwatchable as they dragged on for more and more seasons. By contrast, many acclaimed shows didn't need to stretch out the story for the sake of ratings, and managed to tell a deep, satisfying, and complete story in just four or five seasons.
It's also unlikely that Oseman themself would want to mess with the consistency and coherence of the story: Season 1 was based on Volumes 1 and 2 of the comic, Season 2 was based on Volume 3, Season 3 will be based on Volume 4, and apparently the final season, like the first, will be a combination of Volumes 7 and the upcoming 8.
The Aging Cast
But the main reason is far from that. When Season 1 was filmed, stars Kit Connor and Joe Locke, who played the story's central characters, Nick and Charlie, respectively, were both 17 years old at the time, which was pretty close to the ages of their characters (16 and 15). But by the time Season 2 was filmed over a year later, it was clear that both teens had grown up, especially Kit.
The boys are now 19 and 20 when Season 3 is produced, although not much time has passed since the events of Season 1. Depending on when Season 4 is filmed, they could be 20 and 21, or even 21 and 22.
Of course, it all depends on how well the makeup, costumes, lighting, and cinematography are chosen. Sex Education made us believe that the show was about teenagers, although at the time of the last season many of the actors were 25-28 years old. As long as they don't go the way of Riverdale, where the creators started moving the characters back and forth between their teenage and adult years, stretching the show out over seven seasons.