‘Heartstopper’ Season 3 Wraps Filming & Everything We Know So Far

heartstopper season 3 production officially begins

Picture: Netflix

Heartstopper, one of Netflix’s big coming-of-age series originating from the UK, returned for its second season in August 2023. A third season has long since been confirmed, and filming began in October. Here’s everything we know: some first-look snaps behind the scenes, the first new cast announcement, and a release date estimate. 

News of season 3 of Heartstopper was revealed when we received the release date and first look at Heartstopper season 2. Just in case you missed it, all eight new episodes of season 2 dropped on Netflix globally on August 3rd, 2023.

Let’s dive into everything known about Heartstopper season 3 so far:


Where is Heartstopper Season 3 in Production?

As you may know, the show films are entirely in England, with the majority of it mainly shot in or around London. Some of the locations the show has filmed at previously include Twickenham Film Studios, Windsor, and Uxbridge.

Multiple sources, including UKCastingNews, indicated over the summer that an October 2023 filming start for the third season of Heartstopper. 

On October 2nd, 2023, Netflix UK tweeted that production has officially begun on season 3.

production begins on heartstopper season 3

Picture: Netflix

On October 4th, we got some first-look pictures of the team filming the new season, specifically at a beach at Lyme Regis in Dorset.

 

Up until now, director Euros Lynn has directed every single episode of Heartstopper, but that will change in season 3 with Andy Newbery stepping into the director’s chair for season 3. Newbery has previously worked on shows like The Light in the Hall, Shetland, Hidden, and Bregus.

andy newbery directing heartstopper series 3

Pictured: Andy Newbery

Initially, production was expected to wrap up just before Christmas, with the scheduled wrap date currently set for December 20th, 2023. However, on December 15th (one week early), Netflix’s social accounts confirmed that filming had wrapped up already.

filming wraps heartstopper season 3

Picture: Netflix


Who is in the cast of Heartstopper Season 3?

Naturally, most of the main cast will return for the third season of Heartstopper;

  • Joe Locke as Charlie Spring
  • Kit Connor as Nick Nelson
  • William Gao as Tao Xu
  • Yasmine Finney as Elle Argent
  • Tobie Donovan as Isaac Henderson
  • Cormac Hyde-Corrin as Harry Greene
  • Rhea Norwood as Imogen Heaney
  • Corinna Brown as Tara Jones
  • Kizzy Edgell as Darcy Olsson

A major change to the cast is Sebastian Croft won’t be returning for the third season as Ben.

The first major casting announcement came in November 2023, with Netflix’s social media accounts confirming that Darragh Hand had been cast as Michael Holden for the upcoming third season. First featured in Solitaire, Michael is described in the books as being an average-looking boy with thick-framed glasses and brown hair, usually gelled into a side part but wavy when not styled. He’s also described as nerdy and awkward for an athlete, noted for his height and wearing oversized glasses and slightly short jeans.

darragh hand as michael holden heartstopper season 3

Picture: Netflix


Heartstopper Season 3 episodes count and titles

There will be a total of eight episodes in season 3. The first episode title has already been revealed as “Love.”

episode 1 love heartstopper season 3 production officially begins

Heartstopper season 3 – episode 1 title- Picture: Netflix


What can we expect from Heartstopper season 3?

Charlie was a mere sentence and a touch away from telling Nick the immortal words “I love you.” However, before we got the chance to see what decision Charlie made, the second season came to an end.

Whatever has been left unsaid between the young pair will hopefully be resolved in season 3.

Based on the novels, according to DigitalSpy, we should see the couple moving to college this season, with Alice Oseman teasing the outlet that other characters will have a larger role in the new season.


What does this mean for Heartstopper’s season 3 release date on Netflix?

Of course, release date speculation is just that for the moment, but there’s no doubt that the series will return at some point in 2024.

Season 2 began filming in September 2022 and had wrapped by December 2022. Even with a month’s difference, we’d expect the show to be available on Netflix around late summer or early fall 2024.

While you’re waiting, you can now purchase Volume 5 of the Heartstopper novel which was released in the UK  on December 7th, while in the US, it won’t be released until December 19th:

Editor’s note: Contains additional contributions by Jacob Robinson.


Are you looking forward to a third season of Heartstopper on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below.