Heartbreak High’s Queer Cast Makes Waves On Social Media

Heartbreak High, the new Aussie reboot that premiered on Netflix earlier this month, has graced our screens with a myriad of diverse characters.

The series focuses on students at Hartley High, particularly protagonist, Amerie (played by Ayesha A. Madon), as she navigates life following a falling out with her best friend, Harper (Asher Yasbincek). Amerie is forced to make new friends, Quinni (Chloé Hayden) and Darren (James Majoos), who take up a huge chunk of screentime and have quickly become fan favourites.

“I am going to need everybody to watch heartbreak high right now for Amerie, Darren and Quinni, the only trio ever” one fan tweeted, with another adding, “Quinni & Darren my beautiful exquisite jellyfish”.

Darren And Cash

A large reason for the hype surrounding these characters is the authenticity with which they represent marginalised communities. Darren, for example, is a biracial non-binary character who is shown repeatedly having to correct their parents when they refer to Darren with the incorrect pronouns.

Darren’s relationship with both of their parents is refreshingly complex and realistic. They are somewhat supportive of their child’s gender diversity, but often say the wrong thing or struggle to understand them. This dynamic leads to friction in the family as well as heart-warming scenes, particularly between Darren and their father, who is trying his best to connect with his child.

One such scene involves Darren confiding in their father about their feelings towards fellow student, Cash (Will McDonald), who is another great example of Heartbreak High’s diversity.

Asexual Fans Welcome Representation

Cash is a drug dealer who is in with a bad crowd and feels isolated in his queer identity. Darren and Cash grow feelings for each other but the pair struggle to see eye-to-eye intimacy-wise. The couple’s journey struck a chord with asexual fans of the show.

“Darren’s story arc with an asexual guy is so important because it shows that sex is not necessary for you to know that you’re loved. I’m all for Cash teaching them that they’re so much more than just a ‘poophole loophole’”, one fan tweeted.

Although Cash has not canonically been confirmed as asexual, there are many hints that the show could be heading in that direction should it be renewed for a second season.

The inclusion of an asexual character in the series would be rather groundbreaking as there is a severe lack of representation in media when it comes to asexuality. According to GLAAD’s ‘Where we are on TV’ report, there was only one asexual character on US television in 2020.

Realistic Portrayal Of Autism

Heartbreak High’s diverse casting doesn’t end there, either. Fan favourite, Quinni is an autistic lesbian woman. This is especially refreshing to see as although neurodiverse individuals are more likely to identify as queer than their neurotypical counterparts, this intersectionality is rarely represented in media.

Quinni and girlfriend, Sasha (Gemma Chua-Tran), are shown trying to navigate issues and misunderstandings that arise due to their differing neurotypes.

Heartbreak High includes scenes of Quinni stimming, masking, and becoming non-verbal, autistic traits which Sasha struggles to understand. The conversations and arguments that arise, although seldom represented in media, are common in relationships between autistic and non-autistic individuals.

This realistic portrayal of autism has garnered much love online for Heartbreak High.

“I watched Heartbreak High and felt incredibly seen by Quinni. It’s amazing to see such a well balanced autistic woman with such a honest portrayal of meltdowns and shutdowns,” a fan tweeted.

So far, Heartbreak High’s excellent portrayal of diversity onscreen has been very popular. At the time of writing, the series is at the number two spot in Netflix Australia’s ‘top ten’. After including such rare portrayals of intersectionality and diverse identities on screen, many are hoping the Aussie show gets renewed for a second season.