Heartstopper star Joe Locke teases passionate makeout between Nick and Charlie in season 2

In the second season of Heartstopper, Charlie and Nick are much more grown up – and prove it with a “10-minute kissing montage”, according to star Joe Locke.

The passionate kissing marathon might not entirely be a surprise for any Heartstopper fans who watched the trailer for the second season yesterday (25 July).

In the first 20 seconds of the two-and-a-half minute trailer, the loved-up protagonists Charlie Spring (Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) dive in for an impressive three kisses. By the end, they’ve smooched five times – six, if you include Charlie’s panicked discovery that he’s got a love bite.

According to Locke though, the passion between the pair doesn’t end there, as the new season sees Charlie and Nick’s relationship develop from a cutesy teen crush to something a lot more serious.

“They can’t keep their hands off each other,” Locke teased while speaking to Radio Times.

“In the first episode, there’s a 10-minute kissing montage, which I think is very apt for the season. They’re getting more comfortable with each other, in each other’s space… The relationship is becoming a proper relationship rather than a school-boy romance.”

If the trailer for the Netflix queer teen hit is anything to go by, season two will see their young love get even more sweet: there’s a lot of snuggling in bed and plenty of air hugs between them.

Season two isn’t just a treacly teen love affair though. The show’s creator, Alice Oseman, previously revealed that the second outing is a little bit darker, with the troubles of being a young queer person becoming increasingly apparent. 

In the trailer, Nick appears to battle with the prospect of coming out to his friends and wider family, particularly considering his older brother David is a raging homophobe. In what is arguably the trailer’s most poignant moment, Nick texts Charlie, to ask: “Why is being out so complicated?”

Meanwhile, Charlie, who is helping Nick navigate his way out of the closet, has his own problems to deal with – the first signs of an eating disorder are beginning to rear their head.

Charlie is a lot more equipped to deal with the dramas of life now because he has more of an “outward confidence in both himself and his relationship”, Locke said.

“Charlie had this quiet confidence in season one. He was able to ask Nick out… which takes a lot of guts. But in season two, we see more of feisty Charlie. He stands up for what he believes in, and that was fun.”

For Oseman, there’s good reason decision to give Charlie and Nick a few more challenges: no queer teenager’s life is all sunshine and Progress Pride flag rainbows. 

“I don’t want Heartstopper to be the same every season,” she said, adding that all the characters in season two are a little older and wiser, and maturing in their romances.

“I want each season to feel like an evolution, to tackle new ideas and themes, and for us to see the characters changing and growing, while preserving the hopeful heart of Heartstopper.”

The first reviews indicate that fans have no reason to worry that the upcoming season will be an out-and-out, dark and devastating drama. The vital queer joy that made Heartstopper so important remains at its core.

Alongside Charlie and Nick’s blooming romance, fans can expect to see favourites Elle Argent (Yasmin Finney) and Tao Xu (William Gao) work out whether they can be more than friends, while lesbian couple Tara (Corinna Browne) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell) will deal with a few bumps in their relationship.

Heartstopper season two drops on Netflix on 3 August.