Heartbreak High Season 1

Hey everyone and welcome, today we will be talking about the show Heartbreak High. Fun Fact, this is a reboot of the 1994 series of the same name and if you watched that show you would recognize some familiar like Peter Rivers, Isabella Guittierez, and Jeremy Lindsay Taylor. This show came out In 2022 and stars Ayesha Mason, Asher Yasbincek, and  James Majoos, and was created by Hannah Carroll Chapman. So without further ado let’s get right into it.

Heartbreak High follows the students at Hartley High after an incest map is found on a wall that details their sexual exploits. Students included on this map are forced to take a class called Sexual Literacy Tutorial which is shortened to being called Sluts. One of the map’s creators, Amerie becomes a social outcast after she takes the blame for making the map even though she made it with her friend Harper who for some reason isn’t talking to her.

Heartbreak High is a comedy-drama. It has similar vibes to Euphoria, Never Have I Ever, or Sex Education.

Heartbreak High is one of those shows I heard about online and I kept saying you know one day I will get to that and when I finally did I didn’t want it to end. The main focus is Amerie and Harper's story but it also shows the relationships of other students at that school.

I must also mention that the incest map is not what it exactly sounds like because when I said that to people they looked at me weirdly. The map is just people at the school who have hooked up with other people and showing all that are connected.

I loved following Amerie and Harper and even though I was trying to figure out what happened I realized that no matter what they said, their actions proved that they sort of cared about each other. I think the show did a great job of building up their story and had me on the edge of my seat as we slowly started getting hints at what could have happened. The two actors did a great job portraying these characters and displaying their complex emotions and really had me invested.

Malaki was one of my favorite characters and it was heartbreaking to see him get abused by the police. In America, we see police brutality a lot with black people and this show opened my eyes to the similar discrimination that indigenous people face simply because of their skin color in Australia. It was interesting seeing this through Malaki’s perspective and how he was clearly trying his best not to react as he’s being aggressively pushed and how he gets abused and then seeing how he reacts to it all. He doesn’t want to constantly relive it but it becomes something he can’t escape. A lot of the kids thought it was a joke which is crazy because it really wasn’t a laughing matter. I’m glad that the character takes some time to focus on his mental health and finds a support system that really cares for him.

Darren and Cash was not the couple that I thought I would be rooting for going into this but I truly wanted them to win. I didn’t even know in the beginning that Cash was even interested in the same sex but comes to find out that he was interested in Darren. They go through ups and downs in their relationship but the show did a good job of showing that Cash is asexual without having to say it and how they had different wants when it came to sex but still cared deeply about each other. I’m glad that Cash finally tells Darren that he loves him in the end even though he is arrested and hopefully they aren’t separated for too long.

Also, Cash’s grandmother was a fantastic addition. She was very progressive and didn’t pry too much into Cash’s life but truly had his back. I love when the cops are looking for him and she sees him in the distance and gives him a heads-up so he has time to say his final goodbyes.

Quinni was such a sweet character and probably the least messy and I was truly rooting for her. She dates Sasha for a bit but they were always clashing which kind of made me sad because it seemed like they truly cared for each other but every time they tried going to an event they would clash. Quinni seems like a loyal friend and I’m interested to see where her path leads her in season 2.

Seeing all of the people hooking up with each other Was sooo messy. There were plenty of times when I was like are you really sure this is the best course of action at this moment but also I was waiting to see how it was all going to play out. It’s crazy that everyone was mad at Amerie for the map but the map was true so they really should be self-reflecting.

This show did a wonderful job showing that people’s relationships are different with different people. The example that stands out is Sasha and how different she acts with Quinini vs with Missy. The relationships are complex in this show and it was interesting to see the different relationships and the drama that comes with it. It’s interesting to see how people interact with different people and to see their demeanor and the different topics they’ll talk about with one person and not the other.

It’s crazy to me to see how many problems could've been solved with a simple conversation. Whether this be relationship struggles or just to help people understand each other. There were a lot of characters that were holding in a lot of pain which unfortunately they believed that they needed to handle themselves but they really did not. I’m glad that some of the characters finally opened up towards the end but the lack of speaking up throughout the season caused so many problems.

I think my favorite part of this show was the representation that is seen throughout the show. There is racial representation, different representations of sexual orientation, and disability representation more specifically autistic representation. Having representation is important not only to reflect the world we live in today but also to create characters that more people might relate to.

Heartbreak High takes on displaying a modern experience for teens in Australia. The cast is diverse and great and there are so many interesting situations that come up with these students. I’m so happy this show got renewed for season 2 because I need more asap.