Watch Heartbreak High

Heartbreak High is a teen drama series that premiered on Netflix in 2022. The show is set at Hartley High, a fictional high school located in Sydney, Australia. It follows the lives of the students as they navigate love, sex, friendship and identity. The main character is Amerie, a smart and ambitious student who dreams of getting into a prestigious university. At the start of her final year, Amerie's world is turned upside down when she discovers her boyfriend has been cheating on her with multiple girls at Hartley High. Hurt and angry, Amerie publishes an anonymous "sex map" online that details all of her ex's hookups and affairs. The map goes viral and the revelation of these secrets throws the school into chaos.

Amerie has to deal with the fallout as students struggle with the exposure of their personal lives. Her close friends Darren and Harper get caught up in the drama, as do many other students who find themselves named in the map. Amerie tries to reconcile her sense of betrayal with the damage she has caused by exposing private information about her classmates.

A new student named Dusty provides a welcome distraction. Dusty has an enigmatic personality and challenges Amerie's worldview. Their flirtation adds further complexity to Amerie's life as she figures out who she can trust.

Heartbreak High explores many relevant teen issues like sexuality, consent, shame, racism, bullying, addiction and navigating digital life. The diverse cast of characters allows different perspectives to be shown on each topic. For example, when a nude photo is leaked, the show examines the situation from the point of view of the girl in the photo, the hacker, and other students who share the photo.

Many of the characters are discovering their sexual and gender identities. Harper questions whether she might be pansexual. Darren hesitantly comes out as gay and deals with the repercussions this has on his friendships and place on the school football team. New student Quinn explores their non-binary identity and pushes boundaries with their self-expression.

The show balances weighty subject matter with humor, dramatic twists and turns, and the lightness of teen crushes and romance. The soundtrack features current hits as well as nostalgic throwback tunes. Visually, Heartbreak High has a bright, playful style that contrasts some of the darker material.

At its core, Heartbreak High is about the universality of the high school experience. Despite being set in Australia, the show depicts realistic teenage personalities, problems and relationships that are recognizable across cultures. The characters make mistakes, fight, hurt each other, and hopefully grow in the process. The bonds between friends are tested and strengthened. And under it all, the uncertainty of figuring out who you are and who you want to become. Heartbreak High invites viewers to remember their own adolescence while empathizing with a new generation navigating school life in 2022.

Heartbreak High is a series that ran for 7 seasons (210 episodes) between September 14, 2022 and on Netflix