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I was a long-time AV Club reader (all the way back to Emily's Glee recaps) so the turn the site has taken in recent years has been disappointing. I saw that you were launching this substack but I didn't watch any of the initial shows so I held off. But the Heartstopper reviews were exactly in my wheelhouse and even though they were in front of the paywall they were worth the subscription even if it was just for those. (But I'm pretty sure I'll watch some of the new summer shows as well)

I hope you'll continue doing queer YA coverage when quality programs come out. And of course hopefully for S2 Heartstopper (though I've been burned by Netflix enough times to know there are no guarantees until it's official).

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I'm late to the party but I just rewatched it (again, in one sitting as I just couldn't tear myself away). I'm biased in favor of queer stories, but I can only say Heartstopper is a masterpiece. Every element was firing full cylinder--the writing, pacing, casting, acting, costume and set design... On rewatch I spotted for the first time so many tiny details that just enhanced the story--blue and yellow iconography, a fleeting but telling look from a character.

And I'm beyond impressed with the two leads. I cannot believe two 17-year-olds turned in performances of such quality, vulnerability and thoughtfulness. Particularly Joe Locke in hist first professional job. He gives me Colin Morgan circa 2008 vibes--not merely because of his youth and physical resemblance, but from his raw talent. I look forward to future work from him and Kit Connor.

On a meta note, I discovered your Substack while reading everything I could get my hands on regarding Heartstopper. I too have missed AV Club's TV coverage, and now I know why! Your excellent episodic analysis was fantastic even reading it all after I'd seen the whole show. I was intrigued when I saw what other shows you plan to cover this year; then when I saw someone's reviewing Strange New Worlds, by far my most anticipated of the new Trek series, well, that sealed the deal. Thanks for your quality analyses!

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Well, that was lovely. I do think it felt a little padded in the middle; as fast-paced as those first couple episodes were the overall arc was pretty standard for the queer teen love story genre, with the story ending just as the couple finally gets together for real. I would really have liked to have seen these events around episode five or six and then seen the beginnings of their experiences as an out couple.

I appreciate them importance of holding fast to Nick's bisexuality as a matter of representation, but given that he never shows any signs of attraction to anyone besides Charlie it feels a little hollow. Not that I'm hoping that future seasons introduce romantic rivals - I like my ships to be simple and bucolic.

I'm not sure how much of the budget went to a few shooting days with Olivia Coleman, but it was money well spent.

As a former teacher, the fact that there are no adults trying to account for the whereabouts of all of their students during sports day caused me stress. I was always counting students whenever we did stuff outside the classroom.

Thanks again for these. I love forward to reading your comments and any follow up articles you do.

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