{"id":8617,"date":"2026-07-17T12:26:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T07:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=8617"},"modified":"2026-07-17T12:26:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T07:26:18","slug":"heartstopper-forever-review-a-messy-heartfelt-goodbye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=8617","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Heartstopper Forever&#8217; review: a messy, heartfelt goodbye"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong class=\"dropcap big-read-dropcap\">S<\/strong>ince it premiered in 2022, the success of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/series\/heartstopper\"><i>Heartstopper<\/i><\/a> has been genuinely heartwarming. This winsome teen drama never set out to be hip and edgy like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/series\/skins\"><i>Skins<\/i><\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/series\/euphoria\"><i>Euphoria<\/i><\/a>, but it still offered a much-needed celebration of LGBTQ+ representation. As it followed the blossoming romance between outwardly confident rugby jock Nick (Kit Connor) and nervy but determined Charlie (Joe Locke), it offered a comforting vision of British high school life \u2013 one where being gay or bisexual is an obstacle, but not insurmountable.<\/p>\n<p>Essentially, Nick and Charlie always got by with a little help from their friends, who learned about their own sexual and gender identities along the way. How many shows have one asexual character, let alone two? In its<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/reviews\/tv-reviews\/heartstopper-season-3-review-triumphant-coming-of-age-kit-connor-joe-locke-3799024\"> third and most recent season<\/a>, which arrived on Netflix in 2024, <i>Heartstopper<\/i> even managed to shed some of its early tweeness by drilling into Nick and Charlie\u2019s decision to become sexually active<b>. <\/b>Locke also shone during a standout episode in which Charlie receives treatment for an eating disorder.<\/p>\n<p>Though the show\u2019s writer-creator Alice Oseman initially planned for a fourth season, it was announced in April 2025 that <i>Heartstopper w<\/i>ould instead <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/tv\/heartstoppers-to-conclude-with-feature-length-film-3856944\">conclude with a feature-length film<\/a>. Was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/tag\/netflix\">Netflix<\/a> reluctant to commission more episodes \u2013 all too believable, given the streamer\u2019s track record \u2013 or were its<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/features\/tv-interviews\/heartstopper-season-3-kit-connor-joe-locke-3796899\"> breakout stars<\/a> just too busy? Either way, fans were relieved that this beloved show would at least be getting a proper farewell.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Heartstopper Forever | Official Trailer | Netflix\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/locuQ-skySE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Sadly, it\u2019s a pretty patchy one. Adapted by Oseman from her own webcomic and graphic novel series, <i>Heartstopper<\/i> suited an episodic format \u2013 its charm lay in intimacy, not grand gestures. By contrast, this film feels diluted and curiously driftless. For much of its two-hour runtime, it\u2019s overly focused on Charlie and Nick\u2019s relationship difficulties, which are exacerbated as university beckons for one of them. Though<i> Heartstopper: Forever<\/i> never tries to out-steam <i>Heated Rivalry<\/i> \u2013 which would be pretty jarring, admittedly \u2013 the sex scenes are much less squeamish than before.<\/p>\n<p>For long stretches, <i>Heartstopper\u2019<\/i>s supporting characters barely get a look-in. The show\u2019s second couple, chatty Tao (William Gao, also one-half of sibling indie duo <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/the-cover\/wasia-project-20-11-2023-3543720\">Wasia Project<\/a>) and arty Elle (Yasmin Finney), only enjoy a glimmer of closure in the epilogue. Earlier in the film, Elle reminds Charlie about the parlous state of trans rights in 2026, but this well-intentioned moment feels shoehorned in \u2013 Elle has to tell us about the difficulties she faces as a young trans woman because this film doesn\u2019t find time to explore them.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, <i>Heartstopper<\/i>\u2018s prevailing sweetness carries it to the finish. Along the way, there\u2019s a touching subplot involving Charlie\u2019s plan to launch a school \u201cPride club\u201d, which allows gay teacher Mr Ajayi (Fisayo Akinade) to deliver a quietly stirring message about queer disobedience. And as ever, oblivious Imogen (Rhea Norwood) supplies the funniest moments. When she reconnects with Nick, whom she once had a huge crush on, she skips the small talk and says without an ounce of self-consciousness: \u201cI never got to tell you I\u2019m a lesbian.\u201d<b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Still, if <i>Heartstopper Forever <\/i>isn\u2019t a flawless farewell, it\u2019s at least a fitting one. Saying goodbye to your teenage mates isn\u2019t meant to be easy, and this film recognises that growing up can mean growing apart. That it does so without denying fans a happy ending feels like one last big-hearted hurrah.<\/p>\n<div class=\"game-review-verdict\">\n<h2>Details<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Director:<\/strong> Wash Westmoreland<\/li>\n<li><strong>Starring:<\/strong> Kit Connor, Joe Locke, Yasmin Finney<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release date:<\/strong> July 17 (on Netflix)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n  fbq('consent', 'revoke');\n  fbq('init', '370979561341328');\n  fbq('track', 'PageView');\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since it premiered in 2022, the success of Heartstopper has been genuinely heartwarming. This winsome teen drama never set out to be hip and edgy like Skins or Euphoria, but it still offered a much-needed celebration of LGBTQ+ representation. As it followed the blossoming romance between outwardly confident rugby jock Nick (Kit Connor) and nervy&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Heartstopper-Forever.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}