HEARTSTOPPER'S SUMMER OF LOVE
2022 was the year of Heartstopper. As the cast prepare for the highly anticipated release of season two, Munroe Bergdorf caught up with Kizzy Edgell, Yasmin Finney, Corinna Brown and Rhea Norwood to talk authenticity, identity and why the show so deserves its world domination
It’s hard not to sound like a cliché when describing the sheer sensation that is Heartstopper.
The Netflix series, which follows a group of teens as they experience the highs and lows of friendship and love for the first time, is genuinely game-changing. It’s a force to be reckoned with. A cultural phenomenon. Not only was the first season viewed for more than 14.5m hours in its first week (reaching the heights of the top 10 chart in 54 countries), but it also won critics over, receiving widespreadacclaimforits joyous portrayal of queer love. Its characters – Elle Argent (played by Yasmin Finney), Imogen Heaney (Rhea Norwood), Tara Jones (Corinna Brown) and Darcy Olsson (Kizzy Edgell) – quickly garnered icon status from viewers and the wider LGBTQ+ community, with over 10bn TikTok videos dedicated to the Heartstopper hashtag. So who better to interview the cast than former Cosmopolitan cover star and self-professed superfan Munroe Bergdorf?
It’s 3.04pm on the day of their Cosmopolitan cover shoot and Corinna, 24, Kizzy, 20, Rhea, 22, and Yasmin, 19, are gathered around our green-room table. Despite being on set for more than six hours, the group fill the space with a warm, excitable energy. The closeness between them all is clear; Rhea often interjects with comments of support for Kizzy, while Yasmin’s chocolate pomeranian Coco is gently passed around, eventually settling in Corinna’s lap for a cuddle.
The conversation flows naturally, and hearing the cast talk with such refreshing openness is almost like listening to a DMC unfold between best friends at a sleepover. And it’s hard to tell who is more excited to meet who when Munroe dials in for our chat. The model and activist, who has devoted years of her life to championing LGBTQ+ rights as a patron for Mermaids (a charity supporting trans youth) and as an advocate for UN Women UK, has just binged her way through an exclusive early preview of Heartstopper’s second season…
OPENING SPREAD Kizzy wears: Blazer, Rotate Birger Christensen. Loafers (just seen), Grenson. Yasmin wears: Top and skirt, both Santa Brands at Koibird. Heels (just seen), Charles & Keith. Corinna wears: Top, Club L London. Earrings, Roxanne First. Heels (just seen), Steve Madden. Rhea wears: Dress, Giuseppe Di Morabito at Mytheresa. Earrings and necklace, both Roxanne
