‘Heartstopper’ is helping LGBTQ+ fans find hope and community across time and space

Nick and Charlie's love story may be coming to an end on TV, but it lives on in the minds of their fans. Samuel Dore/Netflix Despite the success of shows like “Heated Rivalry” and “Euphoria,” seeing queer people on screen is still rare. Only 9.3% of characters on American TV screens were identified as LGBTQ+ in the 2024-25 season. Around 41% of those characters are not scheduled to return for subsequent seasons, sounding alarms among those in the LGBTQ+ community about the drop in…