Heartstopper, the romance webcomic turned graphic novel by Alice Oseman, has been optioned for television by See-Saw Films, announced Thursday. Oseman’s story follows the blossoming relationship of Nick and Charlie, two love struck teens at a British all-boys grammar school. It’s a spin-off of Oseman’s debut novel, Solitaire, which explicitly tells its readers, “this is not a love story.”

After iterating Nick and Charlie’s love story as an e-novella, then trying to turn it into a novel, Oseman realized the format was all wrong. “Nick and Charlie’s story is made up of fragments. Episodes. There are episodes of their lives; small stories that make up something larger,” she writes in a description. “And so what I realised was that the best way to tell this story would be through a webcomic.”

The story caught fire and Oseman was eventually able to Kickstart a physical edition of the series first volume. Its success continues today with the timely release of the second graphic novel through Hachette Children’s UK.

https://twitter.com/AliceOseman/status/1149280238871949312

See-Saw Films made the deal to option Oseman’s YA graphic novel with Emily Hayward Whitlock at The Artists Partnership in association with Claire Wilson at RCW, in addition to Patrick Walters, head of television development. The producer is also responsible for The King’s Speech, State of the Union and Top of the Lake. 

Oseman is confident that See-Saw will take good care of her characters – especially since she’ll be working alongside them in production. She went to Twitter to give more details on the agreement.

While you’re waiting for the Heartstopper TV show, you can get caught up with Nick and Charlie on Oseman’s Tumblr, or – even better – by buying the physical collections. Oseman’s work is also available at her Patreon.

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