Heartbreak High is a new teen drama tv series directed by Gracie Otto (Deadloch, Seriously Red). It is set in Hartley High and for many viewers the name may ring a bell as Heartbreak High was a popular tv series in the mid to late 90’s produced by Michael Jenkins and Ben Gannon.
In the first scene one did think the show was going to be based in the 90’s due to classic cars and clothing choices, a big thank you to costume Jaspar Goodman for enabling a spin on modern day styling culture and the 90’s certainly is a trend that is coming back. None the less we are introduced to modern day gadgets and I think this is important to show as in modern society social media is everything. A blend of modern day necessities infused with clever styling allows Heartbreak High to stay fresh for many years to come.
As the Ashley’s (Recess) would say scandalous, we couldn’t say it better ourselves, Heartbreak High introduces a Incest map as headmisteess Stacy Woody (Rachel House) calls it. What is an incest map well you can ask Amerie Wadia played by Ayesha Madon and her former bff Harper Mclean played by Asher Yasbincek. They may have very opposing views though as these bffs are no longer, what entailed the split that leads to distest from Harper we will only know as the story pans out.
In school settings you always get a few followers who will take one friend’s opinion over the other and that is in the love couple Missy Beckett (Sherry-Lee Watson) and her pink haired girlfriend Sasha So (Gemma Chua-Than). The actor Sherry-Lee shares with us in three words that her character Missy is outspoken, strong and passionate and perhaps that is what attracts Sasha So. For Sherry it may just be her hair that attracts her as her hair rocks, we know it certainly isn’t her intereactive lips. Sasha does have good reason to hate Ameria as she really did muck up her relationship with Missy. I mean Sasha has to take some responsibility for her actions, however it is high school and at that age ego’s are big and social responsibility is low and the more dramatic the characters the bigger the ratings.
Rounding up the girls we have the adorable yet naive Quinni (Chloe Hayden), she is such a pleasant character that really is kind to others and you kind of are rooting for her throughout the show. Quinni’s character really does embody the way that alot of teenagers are, sometimes a little misguided and sometimes unaware of the things there peers know and thats perfectly ok, hopefully their teacher Jojo (Chika Ikogwe) will be able to help them out on that friend and one must say she certainly does seem to be having fun teaching her new class of pupils.
Back to Quinn and her misfit friend the notorious non binary Darren (James Majoos) who one must say has got a very strong character development from early on, they play the role of Ameria’s out and proud fairy godmother when her former friends turn on her and the school basically annihilate her, thankfully Darren style’s hair well and doesn’t hold grudges. Darren also opens up a narrative arch with the interaction they have with the lovers of the preppy school, which one certainly is hoping Heartbreak High will highlight as the show progresses as we all love school rivalries.
We can predict Amerie and Harper’s friendship will come to a climatic end soon as we have a hunch they will both fall for Dusty (Josh Heuston), can you blame them though, besides acting Josh is a model afterall having worked with the likes of Gucci and Louis Vuitton among many more iconic brands. Also rounding up the males we have Dusty’s friend Spider (Bryn Chapman Parish) who may just fall for Quinn, you do feel the tension rising from as early on as episode 1, all is fair in love and war and plus the best relationships are the ones unexpected, on that note Darren may end up dating basketballer Ant Vaughn (Brodie Townside), I mean we already have the rumour on the incest map and now that the school know Ant’s secret he has no reason to hide his feelings anymore.
Its always hard if all your friends have moved on or if your the new kid of the school oblivious of its history so our hearts do feel bad for castmates Ca$h (Will McDonald III) and Malakai (Thomas Weatherall). Ca$h may come across as a bad guy exteriouly but we think that he has a heart of gold and Malakai on the other hand, questions could be raised over what happened in your past. Heartbreak High is a drama so we expect there to be many adrenaline rushes throughout the shows run and we cant wait to see the storyline unfold.
Go watch the trailer below and let us know in the comments how you get on with the show.
Connor Mantle
Young entrepreneur and freelance model. Founder of the AW20 Hope & Glory Fashion show, with interests in mythology, spiritualism and astrology among many others. One can be contacted via Instagram @Connormantle