Netflix's newly-released Heartstopper bloopers reflect the overall heartwarming vibe of the YA TV show, and one of the scenes even manages to make one significant Nick moment better. Based on the series of graphic novels of the same name by Alice Oseman, Heartstopper was released on Netflix on April 22. The YA romance TV show was written and created by Oseman, with Doctor Who and Torchwood director Euros Lyn appearing as director for the entire course of Heartstopper season 1. Heartstopper follows 14-year-old Charlie (Joe Locke) in his daily school life as he juggles school-related commitments, his group of misfit friends, bullies, and his crush on his new seatmate and school popular rugby player, Nick (Kit Connor).
Despite Charlie being unmistakably Heartstopper’s protagonist, with his point of view being the first one Heartstopper season 1 focuses on, the TV show also delves into the struggles of those close to him, especially his friends. As his friendship with Nick develops, and it becomes clear that both Charlie and Nick have feelings for each other, more space is given to Nick and his exploration of what he feels towards Charlie and how that influences his friendships with other kids who bully Charlie precisely because he is the only openly gay student at school. A turning point in Heartstopper season 1 happens at the end of episode 8 when Nick finally comes out as bisexual to his mother, Sarah (Olivia Colman), in a heartwarming scene that is also part of the recently-released bloopers.
In a blooper of this scene, Colman breaks out of character by saying she can’t remember her words. Colman explains her lapse of memory by saying that she “got all overwhelmed with your little face” (referring to Kit's) and appears emotional despite being out of character at that moment. While the Heartstopper cast often proved how connected they were to the show and the story they helped bring to life, this blooper gave a practical example of how attached Colman was to her character Sarah and her co-star Kit Connor, as the scene's emotion affected her even when not in character.
Olivia Colman’s connection to the Sarah Nelson role isn’t out of place considering the nature of the show. Heartstopper not only has an uncommonly high critic score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and a very high audience score of 98% but it’s also been praised for its overtly heartwarming nature. The show’s pureness is especially evident in Nick’s coming out with his mother - a scene that resonated with many viewers precisely for how it was handled with great empathy. Despite Heartstopper exploring difficult themes such as bullying and homophobia, it does so in a way that doesn’t just show the suffering but also the lighthearted moments of friendship and bonding among Heartstopper’s protagonists as they navigate their respective struggles.
Heartstopper’s widely recognized wholesomeness, which separates it from many other Netflix YA romances, couldn’t have been achieved without its cast connecting to the characters they played. The connection Heartstopper’s cast had to the characters they embodied gave the show the chance to replicate how Oseman’s novels are able to explore dark themes while also translating as entirely wholesome. By showing how the story and its characters affected the show’s actors, Heartstopper’s bloopers not only proved how outstandingly different the show is from other YA romances but also how committed its cast was in bringing Oseman's multi-faceted characters to life so emphatically.