‘Heartstopper’ Is a TV Love Story With the Soul of a Comic
nytimes.comNick, 16, and Charlie, 15, sit side by side on the couch, watching a movie. Charlie has fallen asleep, arm outstretched, palm facing upward.
Nick (Kit Connor) gazes at a sleeping Charlie (Joe Locke) — first with tenderness, then with trepidation. His eyes dart down to Charlie’s hand and the tension is palpable.
When he reaches out and lets his hand hover above Charlie’s, sparks fly, in a literal sense, onscreen. Tiny animated stars and lightning bolts burst with the quiet sound of fireworks.
A warm yellow glow envelops the space between the boys’ palms. This moment comes toward the end of the second episode — aptly titled “Crush” — of “Heartstopper,” the rich coming-of-age love story that recently arrived on Netflix. “Heartstopper” has racked up one improbable success after another since it began life in 2016, as a black-and-white webcomic by Alice Oseman.
