Tales of Belle

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Heartstopper Book Series vs Netflix Series

Updated on January 22nd, 2026

In my Celebrating My 6th Blogiversary post, I briefly reviewed the first two volumes of the Heartstopper book series, and I wanted to compare the graphic novels to the Netflix series.

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heartstopper volume 1
heartstopper volume 2

The Heartstopper Book Series

Heartstopper was originally a webcomic started by Alice Oseman that was then turned into a graphic novel series. Heartstopper contains five graphics novels and Volume 1 was released in 2019. Currently, there are five volumes available, with the 6th and final volume being released in 2026. The series follows Charlie, who was outed and bullied for being gay, and Nick, who is a soft-hearted rugby player. They both attend the Truham Grammar School for Boys, and after being placed in the same form group, they quickly become friends, and Charlie starts falling for Nick even though he does not think he has a chance.

I have read both Heartstopper Volume 1 and Heartstopper Volume 2, and the story is so sweet and at times emotional. There are some serious scenes involving homophobia, but there are also important themes of identity, acceptance, love, and friendship. Since Heartstopper is a graphic novel series, there are black and white illustrations with dialogue. I enjoyed the graphic novel style, and the illustrations were wonderful.

I absolutely loved both Charlie and Nick. Charlie is kind, sensitive, and often overthinks, while Nick is so sweet, and throughout the series, he defends Charlie. Charlie has several close friends, Elle, Tao, and Aled. I adore Elle, and she is supportive of Charlie. She is also transgender, and at the start of the series, she just transferred to the Harvey Greene Grammar School for Girls, where she meets Tara and Darcy. I also like Tao, but he can be overprotective because he saw the bullying Charlie went through, and he does not want Charlie to be hurt again.

Even though Aled is one of Charlie’s close friends, he seems to be more of a background character in the first two volumes. On the other hand, Nick’s friends include the rugby team and his classmates, like Harry. I did not like Nick’s friends because the rugby team is dismissive of Charlie, and you can consider Harry the main villain of the books.

Overall, I loved reading Heartstopper Volume 1 and Volume 2, and I have since read Heartstopper Volume 3 and Volume 4 as well as Heartstopper Volume 5.

The Heartstopper Netflix Series

At the time of writing this post, the Heartstopper Netflix series had 1 season with 8 episodes that are each around 30 minutes long. Seasons 2 and 3 of Heartstopper have now been released, but the focus of this section will mainly be on the first season.

The Netflix series has the same plot as the graphic novels, and it actually follows the graphic novels quite closely. There are the same main characters and events that happen, and there are minimal changes to the dialogue in certain parts. There are also some added scenes like with Tao and Elle, along with Tara and Darcy. I thought the added scenes were nice because the graphic novels only focus on Charlie’s and Nick’s perspectives.

There were also a few extra events like the concert and sports day, and I also liked those because we got to see Charlie, Nick, Tao, Elle, Tara, and Darcy together. The only major changes are to some of the characters. In the Heartstopper Netflix series, Charlie’s friend Aled is replaced by Isaac, who remains a background character. Isaac is quiet and spends his time reading. The Netflix series also added the character Imogen, who is Nick’s friend and has a crush on him.

For a comparison of the Netflix episodes to the graphic novel volumes, episodes 1-3 of the Netflix series follow the plot of Heartstopper Volume 1 while the end of episodes 3-8 follows the plot of Heartstopper Volume 2. The Netflix series continues to follow the plot of the graphic novels closely, and season 2 follows Heartstopper Volume 3, which is where the gang goes on a school trip to Paris. Season 3 of the Netflix series follows Hearstopper Volume 4 and Volume 5, which is where Charlie struggles with an eating disorder, and Nick plans for college.

As far as the actors, they fit their roles perfectly, and Joe Locke, who plays Charlie, and Kit Conner, who plays Nick, are perfect together. Many of the actors are also members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and Joe Locke is openly gay, and Yasmin Finney, who plays Elle, is transgender.

Overall, I loved the Netflix series because it follows the Heartstopper books closely, and the actors are perfect in their roles.

Similarities and Differences Between the Hearstopper Book Series and Netflix Series

To end this post, I would like to do a quick comparison of the similarities and differences between the Heartstopper graphic novels and the first season of the Netflix series.

Similarities

  • The same plot with the same main events
  • The same main characters
  • The same dialogue with only minimal changes

Differences

  • The Netflix series has more scenes with the supporting characters
  • The Netflix series added several new events
  • The Netflix series changed the character Aled to Isaac
  • The Netflix series added the character Imogen

Have you read or watched Heartstopper?

Comments

  4. Charlie says

    I have not read or watched heartstopper. I will be adding it to my list of tv programs to watch and maybe even read the book. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  6. Lauren says

    I haven’t watched the tv series or read the book before. You have shared a great detailed post. It is great that it sticks closely to the book which is sometimes not always the case. Thank you for sharing.

    Lauren x

    Reply

    • talesofbelle says

      I definitely recommend both and I agree it’s often not the case that the tv series or movie closely follows the book, so I’m happy that the Netflix series did!

      Reply

  7. Rocking Specter says

    We have never read or watched Heartstopper, but we truly enjoy reading these book v. show comparison posts! They are always so interesting. Thank you for sharing! Also, don’t forget to check out our three most recent posts!

    Reply

  12. Stephanie says

    It’s great to know how close the adaptation is! I have yet to read the graphic novels – and therefore have yet to watch the show – but I’m so excited to! I’ve been waiting for ages to get the books from my library so I can dive in, binge them, and then do the same with the adaptation. All of my bookstagram friends seem to adore it!

    Reply

    • talesofbelle says

      I agree the series is so sweet and the books are sweet too! I’m currently reading the 3rd book but I left it back at my apartment in Denmark (I’m currently visiting my parents in the US heh)
      That’s cool your friend is Kit Conner’s press manager!

      Reply

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