TV shows we love: Heartbreak High

Disclaimer: What follows are the opinions of someone who has NOT watched the ‘original’ Heartbreak High.

While I might not fully grasp the nostalgia that some devoted fans of the 1990s television series undoubtedly feel, I have undeniably enjoyed and appreciated the reboot.

It all starts with the map, covering an entire wall of the Hartley High School that reveals which students have been sexually involved… and how. The culprits? Two close friends who are now mysteriously falling out. In an attempt to control the situation and reinstate order, the school’s administration decided to introduce sexual literacy tutorials (SLTs) or most commonly known among students as ‘Sluts’.

As viewers begin to feel sorry for the teacher struggling to reach the troubled teenagers, they are also on the edge of their seats following the nonlinear narrative to find out what happened on the night of a wild festival. Personally, another element that made it hard to follow was the slang belonging to the mouths of a generation different than mine.

Some of the highlights of this Australian teen drama’s plotline are the good boy-bad boy romance, loving on the spectrum and the excruciating pain that comes when the person closest to you becomes the person you fear the most.

The scandalous lives of this diverse group of youths can be found on Netflix, albeit sprinkled with some inaccurate medical references like the myth that women and people with vulvas don’t need to use protection during sex.

Watch Heartbreak High to recollect the worst (and best?) days of your life or to discover some cool not-so-well-known artists.

P.S. Am I the only one who finds it problematic to watch teenage characters engaging in sexual acts when in reality the actors portraying them are actually consenting adults?