A beloved Netflix series that changed the game will definitely end after its next season, and I need to go away now

Just when we had finally stopped crying after bingeing season 3, we get an update about Heartstopper season 4, and it’s the one that none of us wanted. The coming-of-age romance has consistently knocked it out the park since its debut on Netflix in 2022, with each season somehow both being incredibly wholesome and affirming and capable of reducing fans to blubbering messes.

Here’s a whole new reason to cry, though; if and when Heartstopper returns, it sounds like there’s every chance that the next season will be its last. The third outing for Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) and their friends just hit streaming this October, so naturally everyone wants to know what awaits the Truham gang in their future. The answer, it tragically seems, is an ending.

Heartstopper creator just gave us the last season 4 update anyone wanted

We’re still waiting on Netflix to make an official renewal on Heartstopper season 4, but the bad news is that even if it is commissioned, it’s been confirmed that this will be the final run for the series. Creator Alice Oseman, who serves as showrunner as well as writer of the original graphic novels and books the TV version is based on, broke the big, heartbreaking news on an episode of the I’ve Never Said This Before podcast.

“Fingers crossed,” Oseman responded, when asked by host Tommy DiDario about whether Heartstopper season 4 is happening. “We haven’t got any solid news as of yet. Obviously we’d love to. I really, really just want to tell the end of the story on TV, bring all those characters, their stories, to a close. So, yeah, fingers crossed.”

It shouldn’t come as a total surprise to fans that Heartstopper‘s conclusion is drawing near. The show has already burned through much of its source material. Five volumes of the graphic novels have been released so far, with a sixth and final one on the way. Season 3 just tackled volumes four and five, so it seems like we can expect the end of the book series and the TV series to dovetail in perfect sync. Unfortunately, that means we might just run out of all forms of new Heartstopper content across the mediums in one go. As Tao might say in his Scottish accent, rude!

On the plus side, Oseman has written various other tomes set in this universe but which focus on other characters, so there is the potential for Netflix to move forward with a few spinoffs — even if the main show has already touched on them. e.g. Tori and Michael’s story in season 3 coming from the novel Solitaire.

Whatever happens, let’s just be thankful we got Heartstopper in the first place — a series that has truly changed the game when it comes to LGBTQ-driven storytelling and has helped launch a new roster of next-gen stars. Just look at Joe Locke taking over the Marvel universe in Agatha All Along and Kit Connor treading the boards on Broadway in Romeo & Juliet. Netflix, you know what you’ve got to do. Announce season 4 and let this extra-special show bow out on a high.