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How Heartstopper creator Alice Oseman uses the webcomic readers as a focus group for the comic’s television adaptation
Heartstopper creator Alice Oseman says that while the webcomic explores some heavy topics, she never wants things to feel too dark
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Being a teenager can feel like navigating a minefield, but there’s lots of beauty amidst the pain. Heartstopper is a coming-of-age webcomic that centers on the love story between two teenagers named Charlie and Nick. The webcomic, which has been adapted into a Netflix teen drama series, also tackles heavy topics like self-harm, eating disorders, bullying, and coming out.
Although the comic has serious themes, it never gets too dark and heavy, and Heartstopper creator Alice Oseman credits her readers with keeping things grounded. In fact, she has used them as an informal focus group as she produces the Netflix adaptation.
“That’s one of the challenges in writing Heartstopper,” Alice Oseman says during a discussion at BFI Flare 2026. “Finding the fine line between wanting to portray these issues realistically versus also not making it so heavy and dark that it just becomes sort of gratuitous and difficult to watch. It’s the same challenge that I face in writing the books to be honest. The helpful thing is that it’s an adaptation.”
“The story has already been read by so many people who’ve shared their thoughts. Every time I post a comic update there are so many comments telling me exactly what people think. So, I sort of had so much feedback already, and then when we were working on the show, it must have been season three or four, we got Beat involved. Beat is an eating disorder charity, and they read the script just to sort of see if there was anything in there that might be particularly harmful to watchers.”
To learn more about the Beat and their mission, check out their official website.
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