You’re Not Allowed To Say The ’S’ Word - A Heartstopper Podcast

You guys make me laugh. I really enjoy your podcast so much! I love listening to all of you, keep up the great work enjoyed all the heartstopper recaps. I hope you will watch Young Royals. I cannot wait for you to start talking about that too. I’m sure it’ll be a while, but I will wait. It’s so good I think you will love it.

Loving the little pod that’s big on heart. Can’t wait to see how this group fills the time between season 2 and 3.

Of the three Heartstopper podcasts that I have explored, “S Word” is my favorite by far. It begins with host Luke Sibson, who has a potent presence in the show thanks to his illuminating insights and marvelous sense of humor- but he also proves to be remarkably adept at managing his large team of panelists so that all are heard and are able to make a meaningful contribution to the proceedings. In the first episode, I had my doubts about how this was going to work- it felt like “The Luke Sibson Show” with a greek chorus backing him up. But fairly quickly the rest of the panel loosened up and began sharing freely and fully- and the result has been podcast gold ever since. I find myself utterly enthralled by these conversations- and two wonderful things are happening for me: 1) My love and appreciation for this wonderful show has only deepened as our attention is drawn to so many telling details about the remarkable care and skill with which this story has been written and told. 2) As a soon-to-be 64-year-old straight male but with a gay best friend, a gay brother, and many gay friends and colleagues, I can’t get over how much I have learned about the queer experience and the many mistakes I have made along the way. I appreciate how the panel is a mix of young and not-quite-so young viewers; there is such value in that. Two tiny quibbles: 1) Once in a while, things feel a bit crowded with so many people weighing in, often right on top of each other (like an episode if TV’s “The View”) - but on the other hand, I appreciate each and every panelist and what they have to contribute. (The tragic fact that death has robbed us of one of those voices is nothing short of heartbreaking.) 2) Once in a while, I find this podcast becoming slightly self-indulgent in terms of making it almost more about the panel’s reaction to the show than to the show itself. OTOH, this is the case of every Heartstopper podcast to which I have listened, and this one transgresses the least in that regard. Part of the reason why I love this podcast so much is that everyone participating is both perceptive and articulate- to the point where I honestly don’t want any of these conversations to end. I think it was wise when the choice was made to expand most of these conversations into two-part episodes … and as you begin tackling the second season, I hope you will continue on. Last thing: thanks for deciding to use clean language. There are still a few of us out in the listening audience with this strong preference, and it isn’t just for the sake of piety. Very seldom is a swear word the best or most effective word to use when one wants to make a point. So thanks for that. But more importantly, thanks for giving Heartstopper fans (young and old alike) such an entertaining yet deeply meaningful podcast about this show that means so very much to so many of us. Best wishes to you all- and keep up the good work! GREG

Kit won an Emmy for his acting in season 1 and you say his character finally got a personality. I understand as older queer people seeing some of this we all wish we had this happy exciting world when we were younger and it makes us bitter but I’d hope that that wouldn’t color your entire podcast. I felt like it was more critical then any other podcast or YouTuber or review I’ve read of the show. Which is a shame. I usually love the cutting British wit but this was far far too much.