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Netflix has greenlit YA drama series Heartstopper, adapted from Alice Oseman’s young adult graphic novel series described as a the “queer graphic novel we wished we had at high school” by the Gay Times.
The eight-episode series is being produced by multi award-winners See-Saw Films (Ammonite, The King’s Speech, Lion) — marking its second collaboration with Netflix — with BAFTA-winning filmmaker Euros Lyn (Doctor Who, Black Mirror, His Dark Materials) attached to direct.
Oseman has also written all eight episodes for the series, which will be executive produced by See-Saw’s Patrick Walters, Jamie Laurenson and Hakan Kousetta and the company’s joint managing directors Iain Canning and Emile Sherman, alongside Lyn. Zorana Piggott is also joining the ‘Heartstopper’ team to produce the highly anticipated series.
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Originally launched as a web comic on Tumblr and Tapas and amassing a large following, Oseman has since published three book volumes of the Heartstopper series with Vol. 4 publishing this May. The story follows Charlie and Nick, who meet at an all-boys school in Kent, become friends, and quickly discover a romance is blossoming between them. Over the series Charlie and Nick fall head over heels for each other. Along the way they realise there is a strong community of allies and friends around them, helping them to access their authentic selves, but also teaching them there is no ‘right way’ to come out.
“I am over the moon that Heartstopper has found a place at Netflix,” said Oseman. “Netflix is totally in support of my and See-Saw’s vision for the show, and I feel 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. It’s a joy and an honour 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.”
Added Lyn: “I’m thrilled to be directing all eight episodes of Alice Osman’s glorious Heartstopper and can’t wait to bring the drama and humour of this joyous boy-meets-boy love story to the screen.”
See-Saw’ exec producer Patrick Walters said: “Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper is joyful tonic for these troubled times. It is an affecting graphic novel that’s on-screen version will pack a real emotional punch for today’s LGBTQIA+ teens. At See-Saw a top priority is to find stories that champion the underdog, and in Charlie and Nick we’ve been able to do exactly that. To have attached a filmmaker as uniquely talented and passionate as Euros Lyn to helm the series is a dream come true.”
The Heartstopper series is published by Hachette in the UK and Scholastic in the US, as well as in fourteen other translation territories worldwide. Over a quarter of a million copies have been sold in the English language, and volumes one, two and three were all number one bestselling graphic novels in the U.K., with volume one on its sixteenth printing already.
Oseman is represented by Emily Hayward-Whitlock at The Artists Partnership and Claire Wilson at RCW Literary Agency. Lyn is represented by Jessica Sykes at Independent Talent Group.
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