7 Shows to Watch While You Wait For Season 3 of ‘Heartstopper’

Who else isn’t ready for season 3 of Heartstopper? Because we, surely, aren’t. Nick and Charlie never fail to make us fall in love with them, each season. And news of the next season being an intense and slightly more serious one, does not help.

But, fear not, and instead start looking for something to watch before season 3 drops. After season 2 left us feeling high on Nick and Charlie’s ridiculously cute romance, we’ve been looking all over for shows that would give us the same high, and here they are.

Young Royals

You are bound to love a show with two canon gays falling in love with each other. What this show does differently from Heartstopper is that it includes mature and authentic themes, by actually showing a realistic portrayal of complex romance. The maturity of Young Royals lies in interconnected themes of monarchy vs. love, class differences, and intersectionality.

The series revolves around

Love,Victor

If you’re looking for the cozy feeling that Heartstopper seems to give us, you should try “Love, Victor”. The characters are well thought out. It is one of the best coming-of-age rom-com dramas you can find online.

Set in the world of the groundbreaking movie, “Love, Simon,” the series revolves around Victor, played by Michael Cimino, who, like Simon, is on his journey of self-discovery. On the journey, he faces challenges at home, navigates the ups and downs of a new high school and explores his sexual orientation. And eventually, spoiler alert! Victor reaches out to Simon when things become too difficult.

Bad Buddy

This is a classic enemies-to-lovers about two university students with an intense rivalry going on rooting from: 

1. Their families have fought for many decades.
2. Their friends from their departments of engineering and architecture are fighting.

But, despite the hostility around them, these enemies find themselves growing closer instead of antagonizing each other.

Although not as realistic and with mature themes like Young Royals, Bad Buddy does have a wholesome vibe going for it. It’s not as popular as Heartstopper because it’s been classed under the BL tag (Boys love), but if you liked Heartstopper, we guarantee you’ll like this as well.

Skam

The story of young teenagers and pupils at Hartvig Nissens upper secondary school in Oslo, and their troubles, scandals and everyday life. Each season is told from a different person’s point of view. And each season is special and has its own plus points. From odd one out isolation of teens to fateful bad boy romance (that’s not cliche btw) Skam has it all.

Given (Anime)

If you are open to watching an Anime that’s similar to Heartstopper, then don’t skip Given, one of the most highly praised queer dramas on Netflix. It’s a Japanese BL show that gives off the Young Royals vibes with its mature themes. 

This series follows the relationship between two high school boys who are brought together by their love of music. The storyline is heartwarming and realistic, exploring themes of love, loss, and again, self-discovery.

Kieta Hatsukoi

Kieta Hatsukoi (My Love Mix-Up) is a Japanese high school comedy BL series that falls pretty close to Heartstopper, especially with its school setting and queer discovery themes. The teenage main character falls for his supposed love rival.

Also known as Kieta Hatsukoi or Vanishing My First Love, My Love Mix-Up is an excellent coming-of-age comedy. Many BL fans will enjoy the hilarious story and heartwarming romance, packed with boundless charm, laughter, and delightfulness. Each episode is effortlessly funny, but still conveys a sentimental message about love, friendship, and adolescence.

Atypical

Two siblings struggling in love and life. As protagonist Sam Gardner (Keir Gilchrist) navigates his autism, family, school and love, his younger sister Casey, played by non-binary actor Brigette Lundy-Paine, goes on a—yes, you guessed it—a self-discovery journey of her own. 

In the show, she isn’t aware she’s attracted to girls until she develops a crush on her classmate Izzie (Fivel Stewart). If you loved all the slow-burn moments in Heartstopper, then you’ll love Casey and Izzie’s relationship in Atypical.

Discovering Yourself: A Recurring Theme

Oof, that was a lot. It seems that we do like the whole ‘discovering yourself’ thing a lot, but it’s very much relevant to aptly represent queer characters, especially those that don’t start off queer. 
Anyways, we hope you liked these suggestions, and will try these out instead of just rewatching Heartstopper for the 4th time like we all know you’re tempted to do.