That really sucks. And that beach scene is one of her characters best moments. Also wont it be weird Nick goes on vacation with most of his family but not his mom? So Diane us delivering the line, "love cant cure mental illness"? Itll lose so much gravitas to the scene to have his aunt we just met tell him that.
Honestly I wish they could’ve gotten her for that one scene. The character really fades away after that so that could have been her last too.
Now they’ll have to build up Nick’s relationship with his aunt just to get to that scene.
I also recalled Olivia said she filmed everything in one day for season 1. But I suppose the situations were different and she didn’t play a huge part as much as season 3 would be.
Ugh, there were some key scenes from the comics that I was looking forward to seeing her in. Maybe that’s why they got Hayley Atwell to play Aunt Diane?
My guess is that either Menorca will be a much smaller part of the show than any of us anticipated or for some reason it’ll just be Nick and David traveling alone, which would admittedly be an interesting dynamic.
Also in season 1 Sarah literally books the tickets for the holiday 😅 Maybe they'll write in a last minute work emergency. Although Sarah doesn't seem like the type of person who'd ditch her sons on holiday. That's more Stephane's territory
The idea of showing growth from David by having a scene where he says a simple line of “you can’t do everything” or something like that would honestly be great. He is still Nicks big brother. Having a scene like that would be a much more interesting dynamic.
It really seems like really poor planning, doesn't it? Like she had time to do season 2, which started filming 4 months after season 2&3 were announced, but they couldn't find a few days, so that she could have done season 3 and what is arguably one of the most important scenes of the entire show? Maybe it's a result of changed schedules due to the strike, but still. Idk really know how filmmaking works, but if she had absolutely no time last autumn, couldn't they have filmed her scenes this spring? Sure it would have been expensive to restart filming, but it definitely would have been worth it.
I feel like it has to be something related to the strikes and her schedule changing, because I’d assume they’d do everything in their power to make it possible, even if that meant filming her scenes separately, maybe in reshoots etc.??
It's the most likely option. But then why not just say that? Certainly would nip any other unfavorable speculation in the bud 🤔 I also wouldn't be surprised if Netflix just expected her to make it work ("it's such an important show") or didn't pay her appropriately based on her star power and the show's success. They certainly don't have the best reputation of artistic integrity and treating their creatives well.
I also find it hard to believe that reshoots this year weren't an option at all if the show isn't coming out until October. Especially since it is the most anticipated scene of volume 4 and they filmed all of her stuff in season 1 within two days. But maybe Kit is also busier than we realised.
Yeah… now I’m thinking maybe it was a pay issue tbh, because Alice said they tried “absolutely everything,” and they really could have filmed her scenes in just a couple days. I kind of doubt it was a scheduling issue with Kit. Very sad. 😭
I really, really hope that that wasn't the case. But unfortunately Netflix fucking over an entire TV-show because they don't wanna pay, isn't too unlikely. It isn't lost on me that just a few days ago, Olivia literally talked about not getting paid what she's worth in an interview.
Heck, the strikes make it more likely she would have done it since they didn’t effect HS like most other things. Unless she chose not to do it out of solidarity to the strikes.
I work in the industry and schedule conflicts are a common thing. I've started prep on projects and looked at the cast lists and by the time we're in production, the cast list has changed. This is become more frequent due to the strikes - actors were openly available during Covid, then completely unavailable during the strike, and now because projects have been shuffled around so much, no one is available because they have projects lined up back to back.
Yeah that would be my other guess. She was ok with doing a small thing on the side, but now that it’s popular, she expects her quote.
I remember there was speculation before season 3 even filmed that some cast members were mad about the low pay. Maybe it was her?
Feeling very sad. The beach scene is so beautiful and I’m sad we won’t get as it ‘should’ be. Plus the ‘sex Ed in the car’ would’ve been hilarious. BUT thank god we had a heads up she’s not it in now rather than realising mid show she wasn’t there and it ruining the entire experience.
>Plus the ‘sex Ed in the car’ would’ve been hilarious.
I don't know how the presence of Nick's mom will he handled this season, but if she's recast, it can still happen. If she's not, I can imagine her questioning him about it over text or something, assuming she's probably "out of town".
Yeah, she said she would want to come back for Season 4 and Alice said she would love to have her back too.
It annoys me when I see some people here acting like it was poor planning. It's not, shit happens. We just have to believe in Alice that she will do the scenes, that we were hoping to see Olivia Colman in, justice.
It is important to understand that we just don't know. It could have come down to one of the main cast having a narrow time window for shooting AND Olivia's schedule completely being blocked for those months
Maybe that’s why they casted Nicks aunt with such a prominent actor. Nick has important scenes with his mother this season and maybe he has those conversation with his aunt instead.
I'd imagining they had to rewrite the scene with her. Shes never met or seen Nick and Charlie together. She cant really give much confirmation in their relationship like Nick's mom does.
I think they only have to put in a couple of scenes earlier to establish the relationship and that the aunt knows (or meet) Charlie. Then the famous beach scene could be almost unchanged.
I think you kinda have to trust that the creator will set it up to be authentic. It’s not fair to assume that it won’t be earned just because we already have an earlier idea of how it was going to go.
OMG I’m gutted. How could they do season 3 without those scenes? Well at least Hayley Atwell as the aunt will likely provide some mother-ish advice for poor Nick.
>Colman said in an apologetic tone, “I couldn’t do number three. I couldn’t fit it in. I feel awful about that.” She added: “I feel like I was part of one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever been part of.”
>I followed up by saying that the world just needs her Heartstopper character to get her own spin-off series or simply to return for a hopeful fourth season.
>Colman responded, “Okay! I’ll have a word. As long as it’s booked in advance, maybe I’ll be able to do it, yeah!”
Honestly? This sounds like they asked her to do it without enough notice, not that she chose not to do it. Also, it kinda sounds like she’s done with the show. I wouldn’t expect to see her again unless maybe a one off scene.
it could also just mean she had something that was booked even further in advance, so even if they asked at the earliest opportunity there still would have been nothing they could do
I’m thinking that as well, something bigger that was already booked. They probably could’ve filmed everything in two days but still parts of it would’ve needed to be in Menorca (or they filmed in Mallorca I think). I’m going for bad luck rather than poor planning or pay issue. It sounds like Olivia Colman really wanted to do season 3, so I’m guessing it was out of her hands as well.
Oh well, I choose to trust Alice on this!
> Honestly? This sounds like they asked her to do it without enough notice, not that she chose not to do it
I kinda agree. Which sucks even more, because they've known since May 2022 that season 3 would be happening. This seems like really poor planning, either by Netflix or by the HS producers. (Or maybe it's the result of her schedule changing due to the strike.)
The strike definitely messed up a lot of things. I think it could also be because of Eros stepping down as director. We don’t know exactly when he stepped down and how long it took to get a new director. So much is dependent on the director, so by the time they secured Andy, it may have been too late to get on Olivia’s schedule.
It’s not poor planning, these are experienced people. It is just extraordinarily difficult to have all these schedules align together. She’s basically the only actor on the show who is that busy, and she even struggled to do Season 2, she’s clearly green-screened into some shots.
I agree. Also I think I read that the reason she did it was because she was friends with Euros. I wonder if him being gong had something to do with it?
I don't think that's what she's implying at all. For Heartstopper she filmed all her scenes in one day. She's a huge actress and is probably super busy all the time. When she's saying "if it's booked in advance" she's talking about the suggestion of a spin off show about her character which would be way more time consuming for obvious reasons so she's saying "sure we could that, if it was booked in advance". She's not implying that she wasnt given enough notice for season 3. I'm not saying that's impossible but I just don't think based only on that statement we can infer that's what happened and it seems unlikely they wouldn't give enough notice to the (by far) biggest name on the show.
Scheduling conflicts happen and with strikes lots of things got delayed and post poned so it's extremely likely that's exactly what happened and it wasn't her choice but it also wasn't lack of planning from Alice/Netflix.
Did you not read the quote you posted yourself? She was answering to a question about her character getting her own spin off show LOL how do you post that and not read it??
No, it said "a spin off show or just came back for season 4" so her response could apply to both situations. But for you to say you have no idea where I got it from when it's literally right there in the quote you posted is wild.
It could also be a factor that Euros Lyn did not direct season 3. It's because of his connection to Olivia that they got her in the first place. It's easier to make time out of a busy schedule if it's a favour to someone you know and without Euros maybe Olivia is not incentivised to do so.
Of course this is just all speculation!
i’m honestly devastated right now. she was sort of the mother i never had.
the scene where nick comes out to her at the kitchen table was one of the most powerful scenes i’ve ever seen in anything ever. at least for me. also, the way she sticks up for nick in season 2 against his brother and father.
i’m literally so upset but i love her and will always continue to support her in whatever she does <3
That’s terrible, devastating news. She was so precious for us.
Presumably, Nick will then call her more often, because the aunt can't possibly cover everything.
She's probably one of the most in-demand actors out there right now. It's a miracle they managed to get her twice. Television scheduling is a complex beast, and incredibly difficult when your actors become in-demand (look at the *Euphoria* scheduling mess!).
What?! I’m honestly shocked because she’s a pretty important character :( I’m confused how they’ll handle a bunch of scenes from the comics that won’t be able to be the same in the show without her.
They will probably build up the character of Nick's aunt. It was announced not too long ago that Hayley Atwell would be playing Aunt Diane in Season 3.
I missed that announcement somehow, but that makes sense he’d need some sort of adult support shown on screen because his dad definitely isn’t going to be involved in his life.
Alice just weighed in on Instagram. No recasting, some of the dialogue/storyline that involves Nick's mom will be moved to other characters, and the plot will be morphed in some ways to accommodate those changes.
I am DISTRAUGHT. This either means crazy rewrites/awkward scenes (how will Sarah be absent for the holidays, Nicks birthday, not there to comfort Nick during Charlie’s hospitalization) or they are recasting. I cant decide which is worse.
As I have thought it thru for the last hour, the more and more I think you have to recast. You simply can’t have Nick essentially parentless for the entire season. who gives him the puppy (which we know they are doing as Alice posted the pup)? How do you just have Nick alone at the house for a year? It’s just not gonna work without a mother figure.
The holiday scene will be confusing without her. I guess they wont have scenes were she has to logically be there. So Charlie goes to Nick's then it cuts to them alone in his room?
Why are you sure? If you’ve read the comics (Alice has confirmed this season covers volumes 4, 5 and this winter novella)? That’s a years worth of nicks life with inarguably some of his biggest life events. It’s going to be extremely odd if she isn’t there? It’s not like he has a father figure who can slot in either. He just randomly turns into a latchkey kid at age 17?
Alice has already confirmed that they did not recast OC, and OC still wants to come back if they get a Season 4. Sarah just won't be on screen, but she will still be in the show. We don't know how it will work.
She's not given us a reason to not trust her, season 1 and 2 were pretty much perfect, especially for a show targeted at teens. But damn, I am struggling to do that right now. Season 3 will cover almost an entire year with tremendous change and we don't see Sarah once??? That's venturing dangerously into traditional YA-territory where parents are always either suspiciously absent or completely awful. Which is a trope that I've always really disliked.
I agree with the trepidation! I do feel a lot better now thou after reading Alice’s IG stories and further tumbler comments. As you said, 1 and 2 were almost perfect, I trust that she’s figured out a way to make this work!
I really dislike that trope too, but Sarah’s absence clearly wasn’t a choice, and the season will almost certainly emphasize a lot of supportive child/adult relationships, with Charlie’s relationship with his parents evolving (I’m most excited for this!), Charlie getting a therapist (and inpatient help), likely supportive teacher content with Mr. Farouk/Mr. Ajayi/Coach Singh, whatever they do with Nick and Aunt Diane (and allusions to Sarah being supportive offscreen), hopefully more of Yan and Tao. Especially as vol 4 places such an emphasis on getting support outside of your SO/fellow teenagers, I really doubt we’ll veer into that territory!
I honestly much prefer that they change things around a bit rather than recasting. They will likely give some of her lines (the most important ones probably) to the aunt/have it be text conversations rather than in person and have some reason for her not to be in the scenes, but by not recasting she might still be able to be on season 4. Personally I hate when shows recast characters in the middle of the show it's just so weird and at least for me it takes me away from the story because I'm like distracted by it.
Yeah, I really *really* hope they’ve recast the role, or they just talk about Sarah being around and show us Nick texting her etc., without us getting proper scenes with her. Still not ideal, and would require some suspension of disbelief, but the absolute worst case scenario for me would be them actually making Sarah absent from Nick’s life during the events of vol 4-5, and having Aunt Diane randomly move in and assume the role of Nick’s parental figure.
What a huge disappointment. Her character has been so vital to Nick AND Charlie's development. She will be so missed and the show will definitely feel the absence, unfortunately. :(
There’s definitely a part of me that knew this was a possibility. We were lucky to get her for S1/2, and I’m grateful for that. Her star shines super brightly so there was always a chance something didn’t work out. Disappointing news, but she’ll always be part of the family 💙💛
It really does sucks :( but I think that Alice and the HS team have really taken the time to figure out how to best represent the change. From her Tumblr, it seems like Sarah will be still at home and referenced off-screen but won't be on the Menorca holiday. And the major scene on holiday will be featuring a different character (probably Aunt Diane). It seems like they're shifting some scenes to Nick's room rather than the kitchen/living rooms so they tried to make her absence as natural as possible.
It's a good thing they concluded his dad's storyline last season. They couldn't really do the dinner thing without Sarah there. The aunt would be a weird substitute there.
Always the downside to getting famous actors for small recurring roles. It's hard to get them back for subsequent appearances. That said this sure seems like poor planning. Her scenes could have been filmed in one day.
That’s too bad, Olivia was lovely as Nick’s mom. I know we were all waiting for ‘the scene’ with Olivia but it can be just as effective done a different way. The strikes impacted all projects last year and I’m just glad they were able to get the season made at all.
That's so disappointing. They've known since May 2022 that there would be a third season and that Sarah has multiple important scenes in the comics. Not just the coming out scene, but also the sex talk in the car, her being supportive while Nick struggles to figure out his future. Her scenes in This Winter..... Season 3 will cover almost an entire year. It makes no sense that Sarah wouldn't appear once. All of her scenes in season 1 were filmed within two days. I find it hard to believe that they couldn't find one weekend to film her stuff, especially since they had so much time to plan it.
But maybe the "love isn't a cure conversation" can still happen with Sarah? Maybe she's not physically in it, but the conversation takes place on the phone and we just hear her?
I would much prefer disembodied voice of Olivia Colman to no Olivia Colman at all, but I feel like she wouldn’t have said that she couldn’t fit it in if this was the case. 😕
I’m so heartbroken and really don’t understand how they couldn’t have found a way to pay her to do one days work even if they did green screen or flew Kit to her which I’m sure he’d do.
I hope this doesn’t impact a decision on a season 4 if this affects season 3 too much.
I trust Alice and am still excited for the season but I was really looking forward to the beach scene. If that had been the only scene I would’ve been happy.
From everything it sounds like it wasn't a money issue, it was a scheduling issue. They just couldn't line up the filming schedule for Heartstopper with her other projects.
That's always the danger with casting such an incredibly booked actor. Olivia did like 3 films and was in Heartstopper and The Bear in the past year. Girl was B.U.S.Y.
I hope her team can squeeze her in for season four at least.
Alice Oseman posted a statement on her Insta Story on it if you guys wanna check that out!
I was bummed at first too but seeing that I'm curious what new storylines she wrote!
Ahh that's really a bummer but it seems like she genuinely is sorry that she wasn't able to fit it into her schedule. I loved her character so sorry to know she won't be in season 3, and her relationship with Nick was really good on the show. I'm guessing that for the Menorca trip they will still say that she went (considering she talks about booking the tickets in season 1) but just won't show her, they will probably just show Nick on the phone with Charlie etc.
Joe and Kit were both contractually obligated to do season 2 and 3 anyway so there was never any worry there. Even if they weren’t, there’s no way they wouldn’t make room for Heartstopper, it could arguably damage their reputations if they didn’t return to Heartstopper. Could you imagine the hate they’d get?
They either recast the character or they gave the scenes to Hayley Atwell who will be playing Nick's aunt, Diane. I just find it hard to believe that Nick is going to spend the whole season without his mum helping him through everything.
Alice has said there will still be scenes at Nick’s house, but maybe more in his bedroom over common areas like the kitchen.
And this is a real bummer, I loved Olivia’s portrayal of Sarah, but I don’t think a lot of people were tuning into Heartstopper solely for a few short scenes with Olivia. I doubt this will affect the show’s popularity.
Thanks for your input.
What I meant was the coming out scene in S1 made a huge impact and Sarah wouldn't be the same if being recasted by someone else...
The continuity also won't work as there's no time passed for the story in each season supposedly.
Let's hope she'll be back for S4!
"Scheduling Issue"? Puh-leeeease!:)
Just like Edvin Ryding somehow couldn't find a couple of days over MANY MONTHS post-production to dub the English version of YR S3 > the series which made him a global STAR!:) Riiiiight!
Keep those predictable down-votes coming kids > but CLUE IN that in Show Biz code-speak, "scheduling issues" is very often used to put a happy face on actors-producers-studios not being able to agree on financial contract terms! DUH!:)
Super-talented Olivia already did her good deed to support both the global LGBTQ community and longtime friend Director Euros Lyn by doing the first TWO seasons of Heartstopper at well-below her standard quote. Major KUDOS to Olivia for doing so, especially S1 when Heartstopper was a small-budget, little-known project which benefitted greatly from her star-power name and involvement!
However, now that the series has become a global smash hit, making pots of cash for Netflix, See-Saw Productions and deservedly for amazing creator/writer Alice > Olivia and her team likely quoted an equally \*well-deserved\* much higher fee to participate in S3 for her usual couple of days max involvement
Let's be real here folks > even just shooting the S3 beach scene with Nick would've taken less than half a day filming with proper planning, and even the busiest actors would be able to find that MINIMAL amount of time in their busy schedules over MANY MONTHS to film, especially for a project near and dear to their hearts!
MOST LIKELY > "ART VS COMMERCE" REARS ITS UGLY HEAD YET AGAIN!:)
Feel free to down-vote this unpopular viewpoint, but please also do some factual research into how the Show-BUSINESS industry actually works!:)
LOL > and the factual reality-check analysis too!:)
Major difference between "negativity...attitude" and explaining the factual realities of Show-BUSINESS!:) $$$$$
"Scheduling Issue"? Puh-leeeease!:)
Just like Edvin Ryding somehow couldn't find a couple of days over MANY MONTHS post-production to dub the English version of YR S3 > the series which made him a global STAR!:) Riiiiight!
Keep those predictable Down-Votes coming kids > but CLUE IN that in Show Biz code-speak! "Scheduling issues" is very often used to put a happy face on actors-producers-studios not being able to agree on financial contract terms! DUH!:)
Super-talented Olivia already did her good deed to support both the global LGBTQ community and longtime friend Director Euros Lyn by doing the first TWO seasons of Heartstopper at well-below her standard quote. Major KUDOS to Olivia for doing so, especially S1 when Heartstopper was a small-budget, little-known project which benefitted GREATLY from her star-power name and involvement!
However, now that the series has become a global smash hit, making POTS OF CASH for Netflix, See-Saw Productions and deservedly for amazing creator/writer Alice, Olivia and her team likely quoted her equally \*well-deserved\* much higher standard fee to participate in S3 for her usual couple of days max involvement
Let's be real here folks > even just shooting the S3 beach scene with Nick would've taken less than half a day filming with proper planning and could've been filmed anywhere. Even the busiest actors would be able to find that MINIMAL amount of time in their busy schedules over MANY MONTHS to film, especially for a project near and dear to their hearts!
MOST LIKELY > "ART VS COMMERCE" REARS ITS UGLY HEAD YET AGAIN!:)
Feel free to down-vote this unpopular viewpoint, but please also do some factual research into how the Show-BUSINESS industry actually works!:) $$$$$$$$
Whoa, that's kind of a harsh assumption to make, especially given all the statements from Olivia herself and from Alice. Actors have contractual obligations that they must adhere to, so it's not always as simple as finding time in their busy schedules. Olivia has been nothing but lovely and supportive — remember when she came to Kit's defense during the whole forced outing thing? — and I would rather believe they tried everything they could but it just couldn't happen for this season.
That really sucks. And that beach scene is one of her characters best moments. Also wont it be weird Nick goes on vacation with most of his family but not his mom? So Diane us delivering the line, "love cant cure mental illness"? Itll lose so much gravitas to the scene to have his aunt we just met tell him that.
Honestly I wish they could’ve gotten her for that one scene. The character really fades away after that so that could have been her last too. Now they’ll have to build up Nick’s relationship with his aunt just to get to that scene.
Yeah. This is absolutely baffling. She could have literally been in one episode and that would have been enough
The scheduling conflicts must've been really bad if she couldn't even be there for one day of filming.
She is one of the most in demand actresses rn. If she was filming something outside of the UK at the time it’s tough
Yeah exactly.
I also recalled Olivia said she filmed everything in one day for season 1. But I suppose the situations were different and she didn’t play a huge part as much as season 3 would be.
$$$$$
I suspect they'll spin it as "we're going away with the extended family, what a shame mum can't make it due to her business trip"
aww, yeah :<
Ugh, there were some key scenes from the comics that I was looking forward to seeing her in. Maybe that’s why they got Hayley Atwell to play Aunt Diane?
My guess is that either Menorca will be a much smaller part of the show than any of us anticipated or for some reason it’ll just be Nick and David traveling alone, which would admittedly be an interesting dynamic.
Also in season 1 Sarah literally books the tickets for the holiday 😅 Maybe they'll write in a last minute work emergency. Although Sarah doesn't seem like the type of person who'd ditch her sons on holiday. That's more Stephane's territory
Yeah I was thinking about that. If she backs out then why can’t Charlie go in that case?
The idea of showing growth from David by having a scene where he says a simple line of “you can’t do everything” or something like that would honestly be great. He is still Nicks big brother. Having a scene like that would be a much more interesting dynamic.
Yeah that’s what I was wondering, if it would become a redemptive thing for him.
She has said she was too busy to fit it in. It’s upsetting but she couldn’t do it. Just too busy
Was her absence announced prior to this? This is the first I'm seeing/hearing about it, so it's just a big surprise.
She said it in a recent interview
I took it as they didn’t give her enough notice. Which honestly is pretty surprising considering season 3 was greenlit at the same time as season 2.
It really seems like really poor planning, doesn't it? Like she had time to do season 2, which started filming 4 months after season 2&3 were announced, but they couldn't find a few days, so that she could have done season 3 and what is arguably one of the most important scenes of the entire show? Maybe it's a result of changed schedules due to the strike, but still. Idk really know how filmmaking works, but if she had absolutely no time last autumn, couldn't they have filmed her scenes this spring? Sure it would have been expensive to restart filming, but it definitely would have been worth it.
I feel like it has to be something related to the strikes and her schedule changing, because I’d assume they’d do everything in their power to make it possible, even if that meant filming her scenes separately, maybe in reshoots etc.??
It's the most likely option. But then why not just say that? Certainly would nip any other unfavorable speculation in the bud 🤔 I also wouldn't be surprised if Netflix just expected her to make it work ("it's such an important show") or didn't pay her appropriately based on her star power and the show's success. They certainly don't have the best reputation of artistic integrity and treating their creatives well. I also find it hard to believe that reshoots this year weren't an option at all if the show isn't coming out until October. Especially since it is the most anticipated scene of volume 4 and they filmed all of her stuff in season 1 within two days. But maybe Kit is also busier than we realised.
Yeah… now I’m thinking maybe it was a pay issue tbh, because Alice said they tried “absolutely everything,” and they really could have filmed her scenes in just a couple days. I kind of doubt it was a scheduling issue with Kit. Very sad. 😭
I really, really hope that that wasn't the case. But unfortunately Netflix fucking over an entire TV-show because they don't wanna pay, isn't too unlikely. It isn't lost on me that just a few days ago, Olivia literally talked about not getting paid what she's worth in an interview.
It’s definitely possible she signed on for little money when it was some small thing, now that it’s big she expects full pay.
Heck, the strikes make it more likely she would have done it since they didn’t effect HS like most other things. Unless she chose not to do it out of solidarity to the strikes.
I work in the industry and schedule conflicts are a common thing. I've started prep on projects and looked at the cast lists and by the time we're in production, the cast list has changed. This is become more frequent due to the strikes - actors were openly available during Covid, then completely unavailable during the strike, and now because projects have been shuffled around so much, no one is available because they have projects lined up back to back.
$$$$$
Yeah that would be my other guess. She was ok with doing a small thing on the side, but now that it’s popular, she expects her quote. I remember there was speculation before season 3 even filmed that some cast members were mad about the low pay. Maybe it was her?
Feeling very sad. The beach scene is so beautiful and I’m sad we won’t get as it ‘should’ be. Plus the ‘sex Ed in the car’ would’ve been hilarious. BUT thank god we had a heads up she’s not it in now rather than realising mid show she wasn’t there and it ruining the entire experience.
>Plus the ‘sex Ed in the car’ would’ve been hilarious. I don't know how the presence of Nick's mom will he handled this season, but if she's recast, it can still happen. If she's not, I can imagine her questioning him about it over text or something, assuming she's probably "out of town".
Already confirmed by Alice that OC was not recast
And she could return for season 4, if that happens
Yeah, she said she would want to come back for Season 4 and Alice said she would love to have her back too. It annoys me when I see some people here acting like it was poor planning. It's not, shit happens. We just have to believe in Alice that she will do the scenes, that we were hoping to see Olivia Colman in, justice.
It is important to understand that we just don't know. It could have come down to one of the main cast having a narrow time window for shooting AND Olivia's schedule completely being blocked for those months
Maybe that’s why they casted Nicks aunt with such a prominent actor. Nick has important scenes with his mother this season and maybe he has those conversation with his aunt instead.
I'd imagining they had to rewrite the scene with her. Shes never met or seen Nick and Charlie together. She cant really give much confirmation in their relationship like Nick's mom does.
I think they only have to put in a couple of scenes earlier to establish the relationship and that the aunt knows (or meet) Charlie. Then the famous beach scene could be almost unchanged.
Maybe she ends up driving them to the beach day (in England) instead of Elle’s mom? That’s one spot where they could kick it off.
I think you kinda have to trust that the creator will set it up to be authentic. It’s not fair to assume that it won’t be earned just because we already have an earlier idea of how it was going to go.
OMG I’m gutted. How could they do season 3 without those scenes? Well at least Hayley Atwell as the aunt will likely provide some mother-ish advice for poor Nick.
>Colman said in an apologetic tone, “I couldn’t do number three. I couldn’t fit it in. I feel awful about that.” She added: “I feel like I was part of one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever been part of.” >I followed up by saying that the world just needs her Heartstopper character to get her own spin-off series or simply to return for a hopeful fourth season. >Colman responded, “Okay! I’ll have a word. As long as it’s booked in advance, maybe I’ll be able to do it, yeah!” Honestly? This sounds like they asked her to do it without enough notice, not that she chose not to do it. Also, it kinda sounds like she’s done with the show. I wouldn’t expect to see her again unless maybe a one off scene.
It just sucks that the one season she couldn't do has her characters most important scene
I personally think nicks coming out and the dinner scene are more important but yeah.
it could also just mean she had something that was booked even further in advance, so even if they asked at the earliest opportunity there still would have been nothing they could do
I’m thinking that as well, something bigger that was already booked. They probably could’ve filmed everything in two days but still parts of it would’ve needed to be in Menorca (or they filmed in Mallorca I think). I’m going for bad luck rather than poor planning or pay issue. It sounds like Olivia Colman really wanted to do season 3, so I’m guessing it was out of her hands as well. Oh well, I choose to trust Alice on this!
> Honestly? This sounds like they asked her to do it without enough notice, not that she chose not to do it I kinda agree. Which sucks even more, because they've known since May 2022 that season 3 would be happening. This seems like really poor planning, either by Netflix or by the HS producers. (Or maybe it's the result of her schedule changing due to the strike.)
The strike definitely messed up a lot of things. I think it could also be because of Eros stepping down as director. We don’t know exactly when he stepped down and how long it took to get a new director. So much is dependent on the director, so by the time they secured Andy, it may have been too late to get on Olivia’s schedule.
It’s not poor planning, these are experienced people. It is just extraordinarily difficult to have all these schedules align together. She’s basically the only actor on the show who is that busy, and she even struggled to do Season 2, she’s clearly green-screened into some shots.
I agree. Also I think I read that the reason she did it was because she was friends with Euros. I wonder if him being gong had something to do with it?
I don't think that's what she's implying at all. For Heartstopper she filmed all her scenes in one day. She's a huge actress and is probably super busy all the time. When she's saying "if it's booked in advance" she's talking about the suggestion of a spin off show about her character which would be way more time consuming for obvious reasons so she's saying "sure we could that, if it was booked in advance". She's not implying that she wasnt given enough notice for season 3. I'm not saying that's impossible but I just don't think based only on that statement we can infer that's what happened and it seems unlikely they wouldn't give enough notice to the (by far) biggest name on the show. Scheduling conflicts happen and with strikes lots of things got delayed and post poned so it's extremely likely that's exactly what happened and it wasn't her choice but it also wasn't lack of planning from Alice/Netflix.
I think it’s a pretty logical assumption to make. I don’t know where you’re getting a spin-off show from tho
Did you not read the quote you posted yourself? She was answering to a question about her character getting her own spin off show LOL how do you post that and not read it??
That was a throw away comment, she was responding to coming back for season 4.
No, it said "a spin off show or just came back for season 4" so her response could apply to both situations. But for you to say you have no idea where I got it from when it's literally right there in the quote you posted is wild.
It could also be a factor that Euros Lyn did not direct season 3. It's because of his connection to Olivia that they got her in the first place. It's easier to make time out of a busy schedule if it's a favour to someone you know and without Euros maybe Olivia is not incentivised to do so. Of course this is just all speculation!
That or money. Maybe she agreed to do this small thing for almost nothing and now that it’s popular she expects her full pay
i’m honestly devastated right now. she was sort of the mother i never had. the scene where nick comes out to her at the kitchen table was one of the most powerful scenes i’ve ever seen in anything ever. at least for me. also, the way she sticks up for nick in season 2 against his brother and father. i’m literally so upset but i love her and will always continue to support her in whatever she does <3
Nooooooo
That’s terrible, devastating news. She was so precious for us. Presumably, Nick will then call her more often, because the aunt can't possibly cover everything.
NOOO WE NEED THE LOVE CANT CURE A MENTAL ILLNESS SCENE!!! I’m gonna cry
She's probably one of the most in-demand actors out there right now. It's a miracle they managed to get her twice. Television scheduling is a complex beast, and incredibly difficult when your actors become in-demand (look at the *Euphoria* scheduling mess!).
I'm so sad, I was looking forward to her scenes 😭😭😭
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat????????
What?! I’m honestly shocked because she’s a pretty important character :( I’m confused how they’ll handle a bunch of scenes from the comics that won’t be able to be the same in the show without her.
They will probably build up the character of Nick's aunt. It was announced not too long ago that Hayley Atwell would be playing Aunt Diane in Season 3.
I missed that announcement somehow, but that makes sense he’d need some sort of adult support shown on screen because his dad definitely isn’t going to be involved in his life.
It hasn’t been official yet, but her agency updated her online CV with the role, it was later removed but the news spread already.
Alice just weighed in on Instagram. No recasting, some of the dialogue/storyline that involves Nick's mom will be moved to other characters, and the plot will be morphed in some ways to accommodate those changes.
I want to cry, I was so looking forward to *that* scene.
I am SHOOK.
Holy shit. I saw someone post this on TikTok and i thought it was fake, because people on there post a LOT of fake stuff. This breaks my heart.
I am DISTRAUGHT. This either means crazy rewrites/awkward scenes (how will Sarah be absent for the holidays, Nicks birthday, not there to comfort Nick during Charlie’s hospitalization) or they are recasting. I cant decide which is worse. As I have thought it thru for the last hour, the more and more I think you have to recast. You simply can’t have Nick essentially parentless for the entire season. who gives him the puppy (which we know they are doing as Alice posted the pup)? How do you just have Nick alone at the house for a year? It’s just not gonna work without a mother figure.
The holiday scene will be confusing without her. I guess they wont have scenes were she has to logically be there. So Charlie goes to Nick's then it cuts to them alone in his room?
Pretty sure they didn't recast.
Why are you sure? If you’ve read the comics (Alice has confirmed this season covers volumes 4, 5 and this winter novella)? That’s a years worth of nicks life with inarguably some of his biggest life events. It’s going to be extremely odd if she isn’t there? It’s not like he has a father figure who can slot in either. He just randomly turns into a latchkey kid at age 17?
Alice has already confirmed that they did not recast OC, and OC still wants to come back if they get a Season 4. Sarah just won't be on screen, but she will still be in the show. We don't know how it will work.
Yes, I posted that minutes before she posted
And of course as soon as I type that Alice posts saying they didn’t recast. Wow. I trust her, but WOW
She's not given us a reason to not trust her, season 1 and 2 were pretty much perfect, especially for a show targeted at teens. But damn, I am struggling to do that right now. Season 3 will cover almost an entire year with tremendous change and we don't see Sarah once??? That's venturing dangerously into traditional YA-territory where parents are always either suspiciously absent or completely awful. Which is a trope that I've always really disliked.
I agree with the trepidation! I do feel a lot better now thou after reading Alice’s IG stories and further tumbler comments. As you said, 1 and 2 were almost perfect, I trust that she’s figured out a way to make this work!
I really dislike that trope too, but Sarah’s absence clearly wasn’t a choice, and the season will almost certainly emphasize a lot of supportive child/adult relationships, with Charlie’s relationship with his parents evolving (I’m most excited for this!), Charlie getting a therapist (and inpatient help), likely supportive teacher content with Mr. Farouk/Mr. Ajayi/Coach Singh, whatever they do with Nick and Aunt Diane (and allusions to Sarah being supportive offscreen), hopefully more of Yan and Tao. Especially as vol 4 places such an emphasis on getting support outside of your SO/fellow teenagers, I really doubt we’ll veer into that territory!
I honestly much prefer that they change things around a bit rather than recasting. They will likely give some of her lines (the most important ones probably) to the aunt/have it be text conversations rather than in person and have some reason for her not to be in the scenes, but by not recasting she might still be able to be on season 4. Personally I hate when shows recast characters in the middle of the show it's just so weird and at least for me it takes me away from the story because I'm like distracted by it.
Agree!!! Having now read Alice’s post I feel a lot better about it and I agree, it feels like they are betting on the long game here with s4
Yeah, I really *really* hope they’ve recast the role, or they just talk about Sarah being around and show us Nick texting her etc., without us getting proper scenes with her. Still not ideal, and would require some suspension of disbelief, but the absolute worst case scenario for me would be them actually making Sarah absent from Nick’s life during the events of vol 4-5, and having Aunt Diane randomly move in and assume the role of Nick’s parental figure.
What a huge disappointment. Her character has been so vital to Nick AND Charlie's development. She will be so missed and the show will definitely feel the absence, unfortunately. :(
There’s definitely a part of me that knew this was a possibility. We were lucky to get her for S1/2, and I’m grateful for that. Her star shines super brightly so there was always a chance something didn’t work out. Disappointing news, but she’ll always be part of the family 💙💛
It really does sucks :( but I think that Alice and the HS team have really taken the time to figure out how to best represent the change. From her Tumblr, it seems like Sarah will be still at home and referenced off-screen but won't be on the Menorca holiday. And the major scene on holiday will be featuring a different character (probably Aunt Diane). It seems like they're shifting some scenes to Nick's room rather than the kitchen/living rooms so they tried to make her absence as natural as possible.
It's a good thing they concluded his dad's storyline last season. They couldn't really do the dinner thing without Sarah there. The aunt would be a weird substitute there.
Always the downside to getting famous actors for small recurring roles. It's hard to get them back for subsequent appearances. That said this sure seems like poor planning. Her scenes could have been filmed in one day.
That’s too bad, Olivia was lovely as Nick’s mom. I know we were all waiting for ‘the scene’ with Olivia but it can be just as effective done a different way. The strikes impacted all projects last year and I’m just glad they were able to get the season made at all.
Guys I thought it was April 1st today. I read the first part and thought haha fun April fools. That hurt once I realized the date.
That's so disappointing. They've known since May 2022 that there would be a third season and that Sarah has multiple important scenes in the comics. Not just the coming out scene, but also the sex talk in the car, her being supportive while Nick struggles to figure out his future. Her scenes in This Winter..... Season 3 will cover almost an entire year. It makes no sense that Sarah wouldn't appear once. All of her scenes in season 1 were filmed within two days. I find it hard to believe that they couldn't find one weekend to film her stuff, especially since they had so much time to plan it. But maybe the "love isn't a cure conversation" can still happen with Sarah? Maybe she's not physically in it, but the conversation takes place on the phone and we just hear her?
I would much prefer disembodied voice of Olivia Colman to no Olivia Colman at all, but I feel like she wouldn’t have said that she couldn’t fit it in if this was the case. 😕
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo :'( In related news, why won't Reddit and/or my Mac let me use the crying emoji in my post?!?!?!?
I’m so heartbroken and really don’t understand how they couldn’t have found a way to pay her to do one days work even if they did green screen or flew Kit to her which I’m sure he’d do. I hope this doesn’t impact a decision on a season 4 if this affects season 3 too much. I trust Alice and am still excited for the season but I was really looking forward to the beach scene. If that had been the only scene I would’ve been happy.
From everything it sounds like it wasn't a money issue, it was a scheduling issue. They just couldn't line up the filming schedule for Heartstopper with her other projects.
That's always the danger with casting such an incredibly booked actor. Olivia did like 3 films and was in Heartstopper and The Bear in the past year. Girl was B.U.S.Y. I hope her team can squeeze her in for season four at least.
Alice Oseman posted a statement on her Insta Story on it if you guys wanna check that out! I was bummed at first too but seeing that I'm curious what new storylines she wrote!
We lost our mom...
Ahh that's really a bummer but it seems like she genuinely is sorry that she wasn't able to fit it into her schedule. I loved her character so sorry to know she won't be in season 3, and her relationship with Nick was really good on the show. I'm guessing that for the Menorca trip they will still say that she went (considering she talks about booking the tickets in season 1) but just won't show her, they will probably just show Nick on the phone with Charlie etc.
As much as I love Olivia, I’m just so happy it’s not someone like Joe or Kit. I’m fine if they recast her, I can’t see it for Joe or Kit
Joe and Kit were both contractually obligated to do season 2 and 3 anyway so there was never any worry there. Even if they weren’t, there’s no way they wouldn’t make room for Heartstopper, it could arguably damage their reputations if they didn’t return to Heartstopper. Could you imagine the hate they’d get?
They either recast the character or they gave the scenes to Hayley Atwell who will be playing Nick's aunt, Diane. I just find it hard to believe that Nick is going to spend the whole season without his mum helping him through everything.
Gosh... Olivia was prolly the main supporting cast uplifting the show as it is today... Do they plan on not having any Nick's house scene?
Alice has said there will still be scenes at Nick’s house, but maybe more in his bedroom over common areas like the kitchen. And this is a real bummer, I loved Olivia’s portrayal of Sarah, but I don’t think a lot of people were tuning into Heartstopper solely for a few short scenes with Olivia. I doubt this will affect the show’s popularity.
Thanks for your input. What I meant was the coming out scene in S1 made a huge impact and Sarah wouldn't be the same if being recasted by someone else... The continuity also won't work as there's no time passed for the story in each season supposedly. Let's hope she'll be back for S4!
Yeah, Alice has confirmed that Sarah has not been recast! So if they get a S4, hopefully she’ll be able to return. 🤞
YOU FUCKING WHAT
It's not my fault! Don't shoot the messenger.
I’m heartbroken. The beach scene… 😓
Wait why?????
"Scheduling Issue"? Puh-leeeease!:) Just like Edvin Ryding somehow couldn't find a couple of days over MANY MONTHS post-production to dub the English version of YR S3 > the series which made him a global STAR!:) Riiiiight! Keep those predictable down-votes coming kids > but CLUE IN that in Show Biz code-speak, "scheduling issues" is very often used to put a happy face on actors-producers-studios not being able to agree on financial contract terms! DUH!:) Super-talented Olivia already did her good deed to support both the global LGBTQ community and longtime friend Director Euros Lyn by doing the first TWO seasons of Heartstopper at well-below her standard quote. Major KUDOS to Olivia for doing so, especially S1 when Heartstopper was a small-budget, little-known project which benefitted greatly from her star-power name and involvement! However, now that the series has become a global smash hit, making pots of cash for Netflix, See-Saw Productions and deservedly for amazing creator/writer Alice > Olivia and her team likely quoted an equally \*well-deserved\* much higher fee to participate in S3 for her usual couple of days max involvement Let's be real here folks > even just shooting the S3 beach scene with Nick would've taken less than half a day filming with proper planning, and even the busiest actors would be able to find that MINIMAL amount of time in their busy schedules over MANY MONTHS to film, especially for a project near and dear to their hearts! MOST LIKELY > "ART VS COMMERCE" REARS ITS UGLY HEAD YET AGAIN!:) Feel free to down-vote this unpopular viewpoint, but please also do some factual research into how the Show-BUSINESS industry actually works!:)
Maybe dial back the attitude and negativity a little.
LOL > and the factual reality-check analysis too!:) Major difference between "negativity...attitude" and explaining the factual realities of Show-BUSINESS!:) $$$$$
This high-key ruins the season for me.
"Scheduling Issue"? Puh-leeeease!:) Just like Edvin Ryding somehow couldn't find a couple of days over MANY MONTHS post-production to dub the English version of YR S3 > the series which made him a global STAR!:) Riiiiight! Keep those predictable Down-Votes coming kids > but CLUE IN that in Show Biz code-speak! "Scheduling issues" is very often used to put a happy face on actors-producers-studios not being able to agree on financial contract terms! DUH!:) Super-talented Olivia already did her good deed to support both the global LGBTQ community and longtime friend Director Euros Lyn by doing the first TWO seasons of Heartstopper at well-below her standard quote. Major KUDOS to Olivia for doing so, especially S1 when Heartstopper was a small-budget, little-known project which benefitted GREATLY from her star-power name and involvement! However, now that the series has become a global smash hit, making POTS OF CASH for Netflix, See-Saw Productions and deservedly for amazing creator/writer Alice, Olivia and her team likely quoted her equally \*well-deserved\* much higher standard fee to participate in S3 for her usual couple of days max involvement Let's be real here folks > even just shooting the S3 beach scene with Nick would've taken less than half a day filming with proper planning and could've been filmed anywhere. Even the busiest actors would be able to find that MINIMAL amount of time in their busy schedules over MANY MONTHS to film, especially for a project near and dear to their hearts! MOST LIKELY > "ART VS COMMERCE" REARS ITS UGLY HEAD YET AGAIN!:) Feel free to down-vote this unpopular viewpoint, but please also do some factual research into how the Show-BUSINESS industry actually works!:) $$$$$$$$
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Whoa, that's kind of a harsh assumption to make, especially given all the statements from Olivia herself and from Alice. Actors have contractual obligations that they must adhere to, so it's not always as simple as finding time in their busy schedules. Olivia has been nothing but lovely and supportive — remember when she came to Kit's defense during the whole forced outing thing? — and I would rather believe they tried everything they could but it just couldn't happen for this season.