In season 2 of Heartstopper, Charlie and Nick go on a school trip to Paris. Why did the creator of the Netflix series choose to take her heroes to the French capital?
A global hit on Netflix, Heartstopper is making a comeback for a second season. New episodes of Alice Oseman’s adaptation of British graphic novels continue the heart-pounding romance between Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor).
As a reminder, the series follows the daily lives of two teenagers, Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson. The first is a young introvert whose homosexuality was revealed without his consent by classmates. He falls in love with the second, a popular rugby player who still wonders about his sexual orientation, all the more so when he gets closer to Charlie.
In addition to this budding and touching romantic relationship, Heartstopper has also won over subscribers for its benevolent and fair representation of the LGBTQIA + community through a gallery of colorful and touching characters.
An important trip to Paris in season 2 of Heartstopper
In season 2 of the marshmallow but never silly series, Charlie and Nick, who comes out bisexual to several of his relatives not without difficulty, take part in a school trip to Paris with their friends.
This adventure in the French capital is told during three episodes, out of the eight contained in the second season of Heartstopper, and it brings Charlie, Nick and company to essential places in Paris, such as the Eiffel Tower, the banks of the Seine, the Museum du Louvre, the Champs-Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre-Dame, the Marais and the Montmartre district, with the Sacré-Coeur basilica and the Montmartre museum.
The entire cast of the Netflix series filmed for several weeks in Paris and some fans had even shared some photos and videos last year at the time of the shooting.
The only dummy place of their trip to Paris: the “École du Coeur” metro station, which simply does not exist. Charlie and Nick take the metro in episode 5 to find Stéphane, Nick’s father who is played by the French actor Thibault de Montalembert (Ten percent).
So why Paris? The author and creator of the series Alice Oseman explained in the press kit that she loved these sequences from the series and that she chose the French capital for a good reason:
“When I originally created the comic, I chose Paris because it was a credible school trip location – easily accessible from the UK and many cultural sites.
But if we go by the themes of the work itself, this trip to Paris marks an important step outside the comfortable and identifiable world of the Truham school that we came to know in the first season.
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These sequences in Paris deeply marked the casting of Heartstopper, in particular Joe Locke (Charlie): “Paris is such an important part of Charlie’s story. This marks Nick and Charlie’s first dating dates.
All the other characters also have major moments in Paris, because obviously, it’s the city of love. It’s a very big part of the season, I think.”
Same story for William Gao (Tao), for whom “Paris is the city of romance and love” : “To see their romance grow and blossom, especially in this setting, with Paris as a backdrop, is a very beautiful thing. I think it’s going to create a lot of smiles and good vibes. It’s a great place to show that young love.”
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Because this school trip is placed under the sign of love for several characters, in particular Charlie and Nick but also Tao and Elle (Yasmin Finney) or Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell). Ultimately, the episodes in Paris are crucial in the development of the characters of Heartstopper in this season 2:
“I don’t see a lot of young people going to Paris. A lot of couples go there, don’t they? So it’s great to have him in the world of Heartstopper, this really romantic trip, where everyone seems to be in the summer of love.”
Heartstopper season 2 is available on Netflix.