Why Heartstopper Is Getting a Movie Instead of Season 4, Explained

Heartstopper, the popular Netflix adaptation of Alice Oseman's graphic novel series, is ready to say goodbye. However, while everyone was expecting another full season of the show, Netflix went a different route and decided that the full feature film was a better idea to wrap up the series.

Wash Westmoreland will direct the film, which is scheduled to begin shooting this summer. The movie will wrap up the story of Nick and Charlie, which is based on Oseman's as-yet-unpublished sixth book.

4 Reasons Heartstopper Finale Turned Into a Movie

There can be many different reasons as to why the producers decided to turn another season into a full length movie, but some of them just seem too obvious. For example, it could have been a money-related problem.

When Joe Locke and Kit Connor were just starting out on the show, they weren't as popular and their salaries probably weren't as high as they are now (especially considering the fact that Locke is now a Marvel star). So a full 8-episode season might have cost Netflix a lot more, especially with the increased pay for the leads. A movie instead is a more financially comfortable option.

Besides, even though the reviews for season 3 remained glowing, Deadline reported that there was a 30% drop in viewership numbers. This could have been a big reason to cut back on Heartstopper; in fact, many fans feel that the show was lucky to get at least some kind of closure.

Another reason? With increased popularity comes new opportunities, and there were probably some scheduling conflicts with the show's main stars who are also part of other projects. So Netflix probably decided that a movie would be a better way to wrap up the story without the risk of diminishing returns over another full season.

There’s one more reason to have a short finale for Heartstopper and it may be related to the story itself. The three previous seasons were full of events, showing our main duo overcoming all sorts of problems, like self-identity problems, tough coming out decisions, sexual awareness, and even mental health problems.

So there’s probably nothing much left to explore, as the main issue Nick and Charlie are facing now is their long-distance relationship. With that resolved — all that stands is to finally give them some space to continue with their lives.

What Do Fans and Critics Think About Heartstopper?

• On Rotten Tomatoes, Heartstopper has 98% from critics and 95% from viewers
• On IMDb, Heartstopper has 8.5/10

Since its debut in 2022, Heartstopper has received critical acclaim for its light touch and teen-friendly portrayal of LGBTQ relationships. Some fans believe a final movie is a good decision because of how the pace of the show changed.

“Season 1 was amazing, but the second and third were really different. The tone was different. And S3 I even found a little boring. The quality is not the same, by any means. Netflix could have abandoned the show completely. To be able to have a finale, to wrap things up, is great news,” Redditor Yoids said.

Heartstopper is available to stream on Netflix.