To a certain extent, it kind of feels like we’re in an in-between period right now when it comes to TV shows, with the end of the year fast approaching and only a few more blockbuster series still to come (like the highly anticipated second season of Netflix’s Squid Game). That said, new seasons of TV shows are dropping here and there that are actually making waves — such as new seasons of two shows that have both debuted to raves from critics.
In fact, the new seasons of both series — Heartstopper Season 3 and Sweetpea Season 1 — have racked up perfect 100% critics’ scores on Rotten Tomatoes right out of the gate. Below is a closer look at both shows.
Heartstopper (Netflix)
Heartstopper, adapted from Alice Oseman’s graphic novel series of the same name, is one of Netflix’s biggest series ever — and the numbers really tell the story.
Season 2 of this hit YA series, for example, racked up 6.1 million total views after its premiere last year — making it #2 on the global Netflix Top 10 TV shows ranking during the viewing window of July 31-Aug. 6, 2023. It’s also one of the streaming giant’s best-reviewed shows ever and has garnered praise for its wholesomeness and the representation in its storytelling. “Season 2 ended with Nick beginning to understand the extent of Charlie’s mental health issues, and it’s this that will drive the story through Season 3,” Oseman said in a Netflix promotional interview about the show, Season 3 of which is streaming now.
“While Heartstopper will always celebrate the joyful and point towards hope, I’m really excited that we are allowing the tone of the show to mature alongside our beloved characters growing up. Mental health, sex, university ambitions, and more: Nick, Charlie, and the Heartstopper teens are getting older, learning more about themselves and each other, and experiencing new desires, new fears, and new joys as they approach adulthood.”
Sweetpea (Starz)
Ella Purnell, of TV shows like Fallout and Yellowjackets, stars in this next show from creator Kirstie Swain, a serial killer series that’s based on the novel of the same name by C.J. Skuse.
The story follows Purnell’s Rhiannon Lewis, a 26-year-old stuck in a dead-end newspaper job who’s never fully come to terms with the past trauma inflicted on her by a mean-girl school classmate. Not addressing that trauma leads to Rhiannon being weighed down by anxiety and even compulsive hair-pulling, until the show decides to walk a fine line by presenting Rhiannon as both a victim and a monster; ultimately, she empowers herself by committing acts of violence — violence that’s jarringly out of place in a life that includes caring for her sick father and doting on her Chihuahua Tink.
Adds Starz: “Rhiannon Lewis doesn’t make much of an impression — people walk past her in the street without a second glance. That is until she is pushed over the edge and loses control. Rhiannon’s life transforms, but can she keep her killer secret?”
The new show hits the Starz app on Oct. 10. Honestly, between this new show and her previous two that I mentioned above, 2024 is starting to feel to me like the Year of Ella. And I’m so here for it.
