heartstopper is bringing alice oseman’s best-selling graphic novels to the small screen, and the netflix series has captured the heart of the source material with ease. however, like any adaptation, it does make some changes to the original story. In particular, these five differences between the heartstopper program and the books are highlighted.
[spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for the heartstopper television series and the graphic novels.]
You are reading: Is imogen in the heartstopper books
1. isaac and imogen do not exist in the ‘heartstopper’ books
One of the biggest differences between the Heartstopper books and the Netflix series is the addition of two new characters. Both Isaac (Tobie Donovan) and Imogen (Rhea Norwood) were created for the TV show only.
isaac is not part of charlie’s (joe locke) group of friends in the alice oseman graphic novels. in fact, he replaces another character named aled last. Aled is the main character in Oseman’s novel Radio Silencio, and is also a close friend of Charlie in Heartstopper. the show removes him and adds isaac in his place, a decision oseman explained to hello!
“basically aled is a character in one of my other books who has his own separate story and i decided i wanted to be able to do whatever i want with this character so it worked to create a new character oseman told the medium.
also, there is no one vying for nick’s (kit connor) attention in the heartstopper books. Although his friends encourage him to flirt with girls, Imogen is not one of them. His inclusion in the Netflix series brings additional tension to the table. and maybe he’ll get his own story from him if heartstopper returns for season 2.
2. the show ‘heartstopper’ provides arguments to its supporting cast from the start
See Also: Joy Deja King – Book Series In Order
Although heartthrob graphic novels explore supporting characters like tao (william gao) and elle (yasmin finney), they don’t do so in depth until later installments. The first few books focus primarily on the blossoming romance between Charlie and Nick.
Thankfully, the TV show makes time for several stories, a nice change from the source material. There’s a much greater emphasis on the other relationships, from Tao and Elle to Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell).
Viewers get to see Tara dealing with her sexuality, and they also get to see the girls’ school that she, darcy, and elle attend. those elements add depth to the world of heartstopper, and we can’t complain about that.
3. tao finds out about charlie and nick earlier in the show
Just as the Heartstopper show gives its supporting characters more to do early on, Tao also learns about Charlie and Nick’s relationship earlier than in the books.
although charlie still hides her romance with tao in the graphic novels, his friend discovers that they are together during a study trip to france. In the TV series, they have a similar discussion about Charlie’s secret. however, it happens on school grounds.
Season 1 of the show doesn’t cover the group’s travels, but it still made sure to address the friendship dynamic between Charlie and Tao. And hopefully viewers will still be able to see the trip to France if Heartstopper gets a Season 2.
4. nick’s friends aren’t all bad in the ‘heartstopper’ books
Although Nick and Charlie deal with bullying from some of Nick’s classmates in the Heartstopper books, not all of them give Charlie a hard time — a major difference from the show.
In fact, the boys on the rugby team catch on to their romance pretty quickly in graphic novels. And while they’re not necessarily as welcoming as Charlie’s friends, they seem to be okay with Nick and Charlie’s relationship. Nick’s friends even wonder why he hasn’t told them about it, suggesting that they want to support him but aren’t entirely sure how.
With heartstopper introducing a lot of characters in its first batch of episodes, the netflix series probably didn’t want to throw too many supporting cast members into the mix. Hopefully Nick’s friendships will get more screen time in Season 2 and prove that not all of his friends are homophobic bullies.
5. charlie’s little brother does not appear in the netflix series
This difference between the heartstopper books and the show is minor compared to the rest, but charlie’s family dynamic is slightly altered in the netflix adaptation.
Although her sister, Tori (Jenny Walser) has several moments to shine, the series does not feature her little brother. it’s unclear if the character doesn’t exist in the adaptation or if she just hasn’t introduced him yet. that’s actually the case for several characters, but oliver should have already shown up. Hopefully, that doesn’t mean she won’t show up later. His interactions with Nick are adorable and definitely deserve some screen time.
heartstopper is currently streaming on netflix.
related: ‘heartstopper’: will there be a season 2? everything we know so far
See Also: Paul Doiron – Book Series In Order