"Heartstopper" and a world without Olivia Colman
Sunday, April 24, 2022 at 4:30PM 
Adapted from Alice Oseman's webcomic and graphic novel, Heartstopper is Netflix's latest hit. The story of two teen boys falling in love, this queer teen romance is an overdose of sweetness packed into eight swift episodes. There's not much conflict beyond the usual fare for this type of narrative, though a good dose of angst keeps the sentimental dessert from tipping into schmaltz. All in all, I can't call myself a fan even though I recognize how such a production would have rocked my world as a gay teen growing up. It's cute, endearing, and terminally chaste, the kind of diversion that feels bound to delight its target audience.
That's not why I felt compelled to binge it, however. So, following that train of thought, let's talk about Olivia Colman and the Oscar-y conjectures Heartstopper accidentally puts forward…
After much mystery and subterfuge, it was revealed that the cast's rumored Oscar winner was our 2018 Best Actress champion. On the heels of playing a most unmaternal mother in The Lost Daughter, Olivia Colman shows up for brief scenes as one of the protagonist's stalwart single parents. As Sarah Nelson, she's a warm presence, openly affectionate, always ready with a heartfelt reassurance that'll put her son at ease. Sarah couldn't be more different from the actress's most recent Academy Award-nominated role. So much so that the performance feels like a proof of range - as if we needed more evidence of Colman's talents.
Speaking of awards, the show actively invites the viewer to think of Oscars when it refers to the annual traditions of a particular group of teens. Every year, the adorable Charlie Spring and his friends get together to watch the Academy Awards. However, as their bond is tested by young romance, Tao – the token cis straight guy – laments the loss of their rituals, including that Oscar-viewing get-together. I don't know about you, but when that happened, and then Olivia Colman showed up minutes later, I couldn't help but wonder if the actress also exists in the Heartstopper universe.
If so, does she look like Sarah Nelson's doppelgänger? If not, how is Oscar history affected by a Colman-less reality? In other words, this innocent show may present an alternate dimension where Glenn Close won in 2018, and Emily Blunt became an Oscar nominee, at long last, for Mary Poppins Returns. If not Colman, I wonder who gets that 2020 Supporting Actress nomination and if Gaga's snub would have been averted. Or perchance, other performers would get those Colman roles and deliver good enough work to get buzz. That I watched Heartstopper and couldn't get such questions out of my head says a lot about me - none of it good.
As I fall further into the depths of Oscar-obsessed insanity, tell me, dear readers, how do you reckon the last few years of movie awards would have unfolded in a universe without Olivia Colman.
Reader Comments (8)
Love this,never heard of this,GaGa gets in this year and Jodie Foster in 2020 as it should've been.
this is the worst timeline - i don't want to live in a world without olivia colman
A world without Olivia Colman... oh the horror. It would be horrendous. That's a world I don't want to live in. If loving Olivia Colman is wrong, then I don't want to be right.
This is really not a fun exercise. As much as I want to imagine living in a world where Glenn Close is an Oscar winner (preferably for Dangerous Liaisons or at least The World According to Garp though), Olivia Colman is one of the few things that make the life worthwhile in these ugly times of ours.
Oh, gosh, I don't want to be in a world without Olivia Colman. I'm always here for actors who can go easily from comedy to drama and back again. But, she's just another on a long list of British actresses I wouldn't want to live without. Something in the water over there, I think, as I certainly don't have the same devotion towards many of our famous American actresses.
i also do not want to live in a world without Olivia Colman. I'm only halfway through HEARTSTOPPERS but I love it. It's so cute an innocent and remarkably faithful to the comic it's based on. Even in terms of character looks.
I remember when Olivia won for The Favourite and thinking "who IS this person". But then I had time, while watching The Crown, to watch Olivia make the character her own, and it was a difficult assignment, because the earlier Elizabeth (Claire Foy) had been so good. I adored Olivia in The Lost Daughter and began to believe, as I still do, that she brings very important gifts to film. Oh and btw she was also good in The Father. So, I don't really want to go to the place where one imagines a history without Olivia Colman.
If you're a fan of Olivia Colman bringing up a gay son, check out the British sitcom Beautiful People. It's from the writer of Beautiful Thing and is enormous fun.