Heartbreak High, a reboot of the popular 90s show, was released last month on Netflix. Similar to Sex Education, the show deals with teenagers experiencing the various complexities that come with sexual intimacy and identity.
The plot
Set in Sydney, Australia, the story follows two high school best friends Amerie and Harper who are inseparable. Over the years, they create a “sex map” on a wall in an abandoned stairwell at their high school.
They have mapped out who in their grade has hooked up with whom, based on rumours and observations. On the first day of school in the new year, the map is found, causing chaos amongst the students.
After it is implied that something distressing has happened between Amerie and Harper at a music festival just before the holidays ended, we see Harper, with newly-buzzed hair, arrive at school looking angry and ignoring Amerie.
Amerie, who is discovered for being the one who created the map, becomes a sudden outcast, hated by her peers for outing their sex lives, and losing her best friend for reasons she herself is trying to figure out.
In an attempt to deal with the sexual activity taking place amongst the students, the principal begins an after-school sex ed class for students whose names were on the map, taught by an English teacher who is critical of the old-fashioned sex ed material.
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Why you should watch it
The show consists of a number of characters with different identities, who are portrayed in an extremely authentic and kind way. Ridding the show of predictable, boring character arcs, the actors translate their own experiences in the world into people we can relate to and learn from.
The show fundamentally deals with navigating relationships (of all kinds) and sexual intimacy at a high school level. But, exploring these ideas would not be accurate if it were not acknowledged how much one’s identity plays a part in one’s experiences.
Heartbreak High features storylines that involve being queer, non-binary, autistic, and give an insight into the feelings that young Aboriginal Australians deal with today.
The show features multiple gripping plots to follow, with a variety of characters that reveal more depth as the episodes go on.
Although Australian, the southern-hemisphere set show is somewhat familiar in a South African landscape: trips to the beach, dads watching rugby on the telly.
Heartbreak High skilfully provides watchers with stories of young people facing a range of difficulties, while balancing the hardships with comedic relief and wholesome interactions.
Watch the trailer here:
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Picture: Netflix