Kit Connor and Joe Locke explain why Heartstopper Forever features more sex
Locke said the decision to include more sexual content reflected the characters's age rather than a change in the show's values
By Callum Wells
Heartstopper stars Kit Connor and Joe Locke have said it would have felt unrealistic for the franchise’s feature-length finale to avoid depicting sex.
The pair return as Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring in Heartstopper Forever, Netflix’s concluding chapter of the hit coming-of-age drama, which premieres on Friday (17 July). Written by creator Alice Oseman and directed by Wash Westmoreland, the film follows Nick and Charlie as they face the prospect of a long-distance relationship with university on the horizon. Connor and Locke also serve as executive producers for the first time.
Speaking to the Guardian, the actors said the final instalment reflects the natural progression of the characters’s relationship, including more intimate moments than viewers have seen in previous seasons.
“There’s a lot more sex, it would be weird if we hadn’t shown it” – Joe Locke on Heartstopper Forever
“It’s a line that you have to walk: ‘How far are we going to take this?'” Connor said. “But at the end of the day, it did feel like these two guys are really attracted to each other at the age where they probably would have been doing it.”
Locke said the decision to include more sexual content reflected the characters’s age rather than a change in the show’s values.
“There’s a lot more sex, it would be weird if we hadn’t shown it,” he said. “Just because our show is a more earnest version of a queer representation doesn’t mean that sex [shouldn’t be shown]. It’s still a big thing for anyone in the world.”
He added that while Nick and Charlie remain in a monogamous relationship, the series is not intended to pass judgement on casual sex.
What have Kit Connor and Joe Locke said about filming Heartstopper Forever‘s intimate scenes
“I don’t think Heartstopper is ever trying to say anything bad about casual sex,” Locke said. “It’s just nice to see two boys in love.”
Connor and Locke also spoke about filming the movie’s intimate scenes, joking about the realities of shooting with a full production crew present.
“In a silent room with lots of middle-aged men,” Connor said, before Locke added: “A camera right next to your face while you’re wearing a cock sock.”
Heartstopper Forever begins streaming on Netflix on 17 July.