Every single way Netflix changed Heartstopper from the original novel

Netflix’s Heartstopper has stolen the hearts of practically everyone in the world this week. The series, adapted from Alice Oseman’s graphic novel series of the same name, has been applauded for being so representative and just downright amazing, but just how similar is it to the comics? Here’s a rundown of all the ways Heartstopper on Netflix was different to the graphic novels by Alice Oseman, starting with Nick’s mates.

Nick’s friends aren’t shit in the Heartstopper graphic novels

Okay, so Nick’s mates are still kind of dicks in the comics. But they have names, faces, and for the most part, support their friend. They also spend a significant amount of time talking to each other about how they think Nick fancies Charlie.

Isaac and Imogen are completely new characters

The closest Heartstopper has ever come to drama follows the removal of Aled Last, one of Charlie’s best friends. Speaking to HELLO!, Alice Oseman said: “Basically, Aled is a character in one of my other books, who has his whole own separate story and I decided that I wanted to be able to do whatever I wanted with this character so it worked to create a new character.”

The new character in question is Isaac, Charlie’s book-loving friend who’s captured the hearts of every person (and every bookstore looking for a way to get down with the kids) watching the show. Another addition is Imogen, Nick’s childhood friend who’s crushing on him hard.

In her interview with HELLO!, Oseman said: “I came up with Imogen because I wanted Nick to have a friend who wasn’t one of the lads. We knew we needed a bit more drama and angst in the story and Imogen is the one who brings the drama midseason.”

Charlie’s little brother doesn’t exist in the show

One of the most controversial changes from the graphic novels was the removal of Oliver Spring, Charlie and Tori’s six-year-old brother. On their Instagram, Alice Oseman, comic and show writer, said: “Oliver has little to no plot significance other than being adorable, and hiring a young child actor has a lot of difficulties and challenges! Less Oliver means more screen time for other characters.”

The show focuses on the girls’ stories a lot more

In the graphic novels, the roles of Elle, Tara, and Darcy, are much smaller. The show spends a lot more time at Higgs, the girls’ school, which makes the story feel a lot more like an ensemble piece than a story about Nick and Charlie exclusively. It also gives the show space to explore and address issues specific to queer women.

There’s no swearing in the show, like at all

Yes, this means that some of Nick Nelson’s most iconic lines have been watered down. But Alice Oseman has a good reason for it. Speaking to Radio Times, she said: “The comics are definitely YA – mid-teens, older teens – but [with] the show, we wanted it to be accessible to young teens and tweens, which is why there’s no swearing, for example.

“We really just wanted it to be accessible for as many people as possible. But particularly in our minds were the young viewers who are like 11 or 12, and they will be able to sit and watch that show safely.”

Everyone’s had an outfit glow up

The Heartstopper comic began in 2016, so you can imagine some of the party clothes the characters are wearing in the earlier scenes. In the TV show, a lot of the costumes have had a glow-up, which includes Tara, Darcy, and Imogen’s iconic party outfits in Episode Three.

It also includes Tao’s very interesting hat, which has stirred up its own conversation, with one Twitter user saying: “Heartstopper is vv good, I love the episodes but what was going on with Tao’s hair? he looked like the McDonald’s sign” but that’s a whole other story.

Mr Ajayi doesn’t appear until later in the books

In the Netflix show, Charlie spends a lot of his lunches hiding out in the art classroom with queer art teacher, Mr Ajayi. In the graphic novels, Mr Ajayi doesn’t appear until much later in the story, and Charlie receives much less advice from him regarding his personal life.

Charlie’s ‘Gay Panic’ wallpaper is new

In the graphic novels, Charlie’s iconic lock screen wasn’t the same as it is in the show. Instead of the “[gay panic]” art, he had a parody of the NASA logo, substituting “GAY” for “NASA”.

According to Alice Oseman’s Twitter, they tried to keep the wallpaper the same in the show, but “NASA said no.” RIP gay NASA wallpaper I will always love you.

Heartstopper is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

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