Our worst fears have come true and it sounds like Heartstopper will be without its Sarah Nelson for the show’s third season. Olivia Colman has revealed she will not be returning to the role.
Season 3 of Heartstopper was in production between October and December of 2023, and despite plenty of surprises being kept under wraps, most of the regular cast was expected to come back for the show’s third installment. Among those expected was Olivia Colman, who plays Nick Nelson (Kit Connor)’s mom, Sarah. Sarah is a fan-favorite character thanks in big part to Colman’s lovely performance in the role, but also due to her relationship with her son, which is as warm as it is truthful.
We got to see more of Colman in the role in Season 2 as the show delved deeper into Nick’s personal and familial history, but unfortunately, that is all we’re going to get of Sarah Nelson for a while… or maybe ever.
Why did Olivia Colman leave Heartstopper?
Oscar-winning actress and international treasure Olivia Colman told Forbes magazine she wasn’t going to be a part of Season 3 of Heartstopper. According to Colman, she couldn’t fit in the filming for the show in her ever-bustling schedule.
“I couldn’t do number three. I couldn’t fit it in,” she said, confessing to feeling awful about the fact. Although the show was renewed for two more seasons only a month after the premiere of its first, it sounds like production on Season 3 wasn’t organized enough in advance so that someone like Colman couldn’t juggle her various commitments.
We say this based on Colman’s comments about a possible return in a fourth season, if Netflix does decide to renew Heartstopper again. “As long as it’s booked in advance, maybe I’ll be able to do it, yeah!,” the coveted actress promised.
Will Olivia Colman be recast in season 3 of Heartstopper?
Although she was forced by circumstance to leave the show, for Colman, Heartstopper is “one of the most beautiful things [she’s] ever been part of.” The scene in Season 1 when Nick comes to his mother was lauded as one of the most sincere of its kind, and fans are now mourning the scenes they won’t get in Season 3.
One, in particular, which they’ve labeled “the beach scene,” has caused the most heartbreak. In the comics, Nick tells his mom about Charlie’s eating disorder and, as he asks for advice and help, Sarah lovingly tells him “Love can’t cure a mental illness.” As has become Heartstopper‘s brand, the kindness with which the Netflix show and the source material approach hard-hitting themes is the reason why they’ve become so important to so many people.
There is always the chance Nick’s mom could be recast with another actress in the third season of Heartsopper, considering the importance of the scenes the two share in the part of the comics that served as the upcoming chapter’s inspiration. That scenario, we believe, is highly unlikely given that Colman was one of the show’s most recognizable talents. Replacing her would feel too jarring and impossible to look past given the depth she brought to such a small part.
According to Netflix, season 3 of Heartstopper will track the squad’s summer holidays and the beginning of their last year of high school (secondary school in the United Kingdom). Charlie will tell Nick he loves him, while Nick will have his own confession to make. As the characters begin considering college/university options “everyone must learn to lean on those they love when life doesn’t go to plan.”
Season 3 of Heartstopper comes out in October of 2024.
