Update: This Johnny Depp movie just hit Netflix's top 10 list — but it's not one you might have guessed
Netflix may be weathering a bit of a storm right now, but it's still putting out content that is well worth binging. Case in point: this new Netflix show that is getting a heartwarming reception from both critics and viewers.
Heartstoppers is a coming-of-age romantic drama set at the fictional Truham Grammer High School in England. The series follows student Charlie Spring, who falls in love with Nick Nelson, an older boy who plays for the school rugby team. The eight-episode first season follows their budding relationship and the pitfalls of young love. It also tackles several real-world issues faced by members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The show stars Kit Connor as Charlie, and Joe Locke as Nick, alongside William Gao, Yasmin Finney, Corinna Brown and Kizzy Edgell. The series is based on a Webtoon comic and graphic novel series created by Alice Oseman. The first season covers the events of the first two volumes, and there are already two further volumes published with a fifth and final installment set to release later this year.
Heartstoppers only debuted on Netflix last week but is already enjoying a wave of positive reviews. On review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, the show currently scores a perfect 100%. Critics have praised the show in particular for its ability to capture the experience of being a teenager and the sensitivity with which it handles its more weighty themes.
Netflix subscribers are also quickly taking to the teen drama. The audience score on Rotten Tomatoes sits at an equally impressive 98%, and Heartstoppers has already cracked the Netflix top 10 most-viewed list on both sides of the pond.
On Netflix U.S. the show sits in eighth, outranking Russian Doll season 2, whereas in its native U.K. Heartstoppers is doing even better sitting in fourth ahead of Bridgerton season 2. With such a strong word of mouth, Heartstoppers could rise further up the ranking in the coming days.
With great reviews, clear audience interest, extremely healthy social media engagement and plenty more source material to adapt, everything would point towards Heartstoppers having a guaranteed future on Netflix. But, the streamer has developed a reputation for canceling shows even with excellent reviews — for instance Netflix just canceled this show with an 83% Rotten Tomatoes score — so Heartstoppers season 2 is far from a sure thing.
Of course, Netflix may want to ride the high of Heartstoppers glowing initial reception for a while yet. It's been a tough couple of weeks for the world’s biggest streaming service. Earlier this month Netflix confirmed it has lost subscribers quarter-over-quarter for the first time in over a decade, in response, the streamer has indicated it is exploring several new options to prevent further bleeding, including a cheaper ad-supported tier and a crackdown on password sharing.
For those looking for the best new movies to stream? We've got the five biggest releases of this week stacked up. And TV fans, here's the one HBO Max show you need to binge-watch right now. Oh, and also: Sony's cast Bad Bunny in its El Muerto Spider-Man spinoff, giving the Spider-Verse a huge injection of star power.
