SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers for the new season of Netflix’s Heartstopper . Dynamic duo Joe Locke and Kit Connor each had major emotional moments to take on as their Heartstopper characters Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson in Season 3 of the Netflix series, based on the graphic novels by Alice Oseman. Season 2 watched Nick (Connor) start to notice Charlie’s eating habits, which were curbed by stress and anxiety.
Nick also came out to several close friends and family members over the course of Season 2, and he asked Charlie more fully about his eating disorder and its causes, setting up for the deeper layers that contribute to Season 3’s plot. Nick also has new obstacles to face as he looks to his future and university, as he is a year older than Charlie. In the below interview, the pair discuss their approach to the more serious themes and tone this season, which moments still brough the signature joy of the series to light, working with guest stars Jonathan Bailey and Haley Atwell and more.
DEADLINE: How did you two approach the more serious tone of this season? CONNOR (to Locke): Well you had a really serious storyline so why don’t you enlighten us? LOCKE: Heartstopper is such a special show and that we can handle quite serious topics with quite a lighthearted tone in a way and the audience always knows that the characters are going to be okay in the end, which means that we can go to these dark places without feeling like we’re going to alienate the a.