Heartbreak High spoilers won't be found in this review.
"Heartbreak High is Australia's answer to Sex Education." You're going to hear that a lot from plenty of publications, us included, and that's because it's true. With its school-centred, sex-obsessed focus, Netflix's reboot of Heartbreak High is more than just a bit reminiscent of Otis and the gang's own story over at Moordale Secondary School.
But there's also more to it than that. Netflix Australia has clearly drawn some international inspiration here for its first commission, but Heartbreak High is anything but a soulless copy.
Yes, everyone's beautiful and awkward, and yes, a sex-related scandal pops almost as brightly as the '90s-inspired outfits (which have now come around full circle to be fashionable again). Yet, despite all this, the unmistakably Australian filter this story is told through imbues Heartbreak High with something far more original than the trailers might suggest.
Things kick off with a friendship torn apart. Amerie and Harper have been best friends for as long as they can remember, but something's come between them, and nope, it's not the surprisingly detailed "incest map" they created to chronicle every "blowie" and "wristy" that's happened at Hartley High.
This is where Heartbreak High veers dangerously close to plagiarising Sex Education, rather than simply drawing inspiration. The trick to copying is to make just enough changes to fool the teacher without being obvious. Thankfully though, Heartbreak High isn't just leaning over and taking notes. By centring a broken bond between two friends, the show stands in stark contrast to Sex Education's wholesome focus on Otis and Eric's friendship.
The "incest map" might be the catalyst for a new sex ed (yep) class that everyone involved with is forced to attend, but it's not the reason why our former besties are no longer on speaking terms. The answer to that eludes Amerie as well in an ongoing mystery that's both intriguingly and frustratingly drawn out across the first season.
Like Sex Education, Heartbreak High balances the central friendship out with a wider cast who are all struggling in their own ways too, whether it's because they're repeating a year at school, they're dealing with their mum's queerphobic partner or they just rocked up to school and got thrown into the sex ed class from day one.
Everything from consent and alcohol to peer pressure and queerness is explored here with the same kind of frankness we often see in Sex Education. But it's not the exact same, we promise!
Aside from the obvious location change, what Heartbreak High has going for it in particular is the way it builds these characters and their lived-in experiences around the actors who play them.
Showrunner Hannah Carroll Chapman has made a point of crafting the stories with the leads in mind. So, for example, non-binary actor James Majoos had the part of Darren written for them directly, and the same goes for Chloé Hayden, who plays an autistic character named Quinni.
Manic-pixie-dream-girl clichés quickly break down as we begin to see the reality of Quinni's life as a young queer, autistic woman. Crucially though, the script doesn't pity her, or any of the others either. Instead, it empathises, giving these roles the space they need to come to the fore as and when it makes sense for the wider narrative.
Aside from the incest map storyline, which verges on silly at points, nothing else feels shoe-horned in, plot-wise. Although, we will admit to laughing a lot at the phrase "tongue punch in the fart box", which pops up quite early on in relation to said map.
Chapman has also made a point of diversifying the writers room to modernise this once groundbreaking series into something more current.
"I don't think at that time we were having the same conversations around queerness and neurodiversity we're having at the moment," Hannah told The Guardian. "It makes it funnier, it makes it more truthful, and I think it hopefully makes for better stories."
As fans of the original show will spot immediately, Heartbreak High's outlook is far more inclusive this time around. The majority of the core cast are queer and most of them are also people of colour, including two First Nations characters.
That kind of broad intersectionality is still quite rare onscreen in general, and particularly when it comes to shows down under.
Historically, Australian TV hasn't provided many diverse acting opportunities outside of glossier fare such as Neighbours and Home and Away. While there is some crossover here, most notably with the involvement of Will "Jett James" McDonald as a drug-dealer named Ca$h, Hartley High represents a far more accurate depiction of what life is really like for young people in Australia today.
Take Arrernte actress Sherry-Lee Watson, who recently told the National Indigenous Times: "It was just really refreshing to be in a kind of safe environment where I was able to express myself and put my own cultural mannerisms into my character."
Diversity alone doesn't make for a great show, but when this inclusivity is combined with honest performances and smartly balanced scripting, it's easy to forgive the occasional parallels to other pre-existing stories.
So, with that in mind, cast aside those Sex Education comparisons for now and swot up on your new favourite Netflix binge.
Heartbreak High is now available to stream worldwide on Netflix.
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