After six graphic novels and three seasons of television, the Heartstopper franchise has concluded with a new Netflix film: Heartstopper Forever. The story, written and created by Alice Oseman, is set in the U.K. and follows a gay high school love story and the friendships surrounding it.
Listen to our full conversation with editor Todd Downing on all podcasting platforms with an abridged transcription below.
Downing begins by sharing that working with author Oseman was unique because she knows the characters better than anyone. “Almost everything I do is starting from scratch, like trying to figure out who these characters are. And this one, you know who they are, […] and the fans are almost their friends, you know what I mean? They’re so emotionally connected.” He says that it was a great change of pace to have something to start from, “rather than trying to figure out who they are at the beginning.” He shares that Oseman would always know exactly what choices the characters would make, but she still wanted to do something new with the movie, so there was still creativity involved in this new project.
To my delight as a Baroney (a superfan of Benito Skinner and Mary Beth Barone), Downing reveals that he’s currently editing the second season of Overcompensating (2025–). He laughs that during the press for Season 1, someone referred to Overcompensating as “Heartstopper on acid.” This leads to his sharing how different Heartstopper (2022–2024) has been compared to his previous work, since he’s mostly started on pilots, or done full limited series or film, rather than coming in after years of a project’s existence.
Most of Downing’s work has been “adult-ish,” but that’s partially what the team wanted to push the Heartstopper film towards after a series that’s mostly heartwarming and wholesome. “It’s so beloved; younger people watch it, but people my age, too, like gay friends who always say, ‘I wish I had that when I was a kid.’” We discuss the ways that it’s made waves in helping kids come out, or see themselves represented. Downing gets teary-eyed speaking on the online gratitude people have for the franchise.
When reflecting on his collaboration with the film’s director Wash Westmoreland, and how their experiences in queer storytelling brought the film together, Downing puts it simply that they’re both gay, so it feels natural. “There’s moments you can relate to,” he confesses, “like the little boy who’s scared to join the gay club. […] We’ve all had that, […] where you wanna come out, you’re almost there, then you get nervous, and you run away.”
In the peak of the conflict, the film uses a Rashomon loop to take us through Charlie’s (Joe Locke) experiences, then travel back in time and show Nick’s (Kit Connor) perspective of the same timeline. “We wanted it to be subtle, and have the audience figure it out, instead of telling them,” Downing explains. The key in the ignition, the beeping sounds of the car, and the song looping are all devices they use to stand out and make the audience aware of the return to that point in time. When sending it to Netflix and the film’s producers, he says people got it right away, and they didn’t have to do anything to clarify.
Going from TV to film allows for more time to sit with the characters. Downing emphasizes the emotional bond you can develop when spending time in a close-up with a character. “They feel real, rather than kind of just rushed through,” he clarifies. “Less talking. The communication through the eyes was really nice. […] The leads… They have such a connection over the years from doing this, and being both very talented, that it’s great to be able to play with them.” He points out that you can’t utilize close-ups and moments where you sit with a character in the same way if the actor is dead behind the eyes.
When getting into the ways you can tackle such a pivotal ending, and a goodbye to a set of characters, Downing sings the praises of being able to do an epilogue. The story ends with Nick and Charlie coming together, “and then you have this really celebratory section of everyone, and what they’re doing, and how they’re moving on and growing up. I always find that part of the film exhilarating, seeing these kids going out in the world and doing their thing.”
Downing advises young queer creatives and filmmakers: “Just make stuff. You kinda just have to do your own thing.” He brings up people being plucked off of YouTube and creating films that make $400 million, likely in reference to this year’s successful horror film, Backrooms. “I wouldn’t worry too much about going into the industry in the right way. […] If you have something to make, make it.”
Downing hopes to see more queer film and television. He sees a pattern of networks making big, expensive queer shows every few years, and not wanting to make more if they aren’t profitable. Thankfully, Heated Rivalry (2025–) made a splash in the “gay is okay” camp with its widespread success. Downing says the Heartstopper team had pushed the sexual aspects of Heartstopper further in their film, not in response to Heated Rivalry as their script had been locked prior to its release, but it was a noticeable parallel seeing Rivalry’s maturity and success as the Heartstopper team worked on their project. “Before it was really taboo to be straight and watch something gay, […] but now, people don’t care. I mean, some people care, obviously, but it seems a lot more people don’t care.”
One of Downing’s most enjoyable scenes to edit for the film was the vulnerable dialogue between Nick and Charlie, particularly when they sit by the water and express their feelings. But ultimately, his favorite thing to work on was the epilogue, due to the excitement of the choreographed camera movement. “It has this real musical quality to it, which was very satisfying to put together and find that rhythm.”
The hardest sequence to edit was the beginning, namely: deciding how to start the film. There were six different ways they were considering, trying to find the right way to transition from TV to film. “There was one [option] where Nick was just waking up in bed, and it was very quiet. It was very, like, European art film, you know, like there’s no dialogue for like three minutes, you know what I mean? It was actually quite beautiful. But also, maybe coming off the TV show into that might’ve been too much of a jump.”
Downing feels confident in their decision to start with Charlie’s speech. “It’s a very nervous scene of him coming into his own, and then he accomplishes it. […] That’s his growth, and that’s the film’s growth, and that’s the audience’s growth, like everyone’s like, okay, we’re just going up a notch.”
Heartstopper Forever is now available for streaming on Netflix.
Interview Courtesy of Risa Bolash
Feature Image Courtesy of Netflix