Meet the LGBTQ+ Characters of Netflix's 'Heartbreak High' Reboot
Bernardo Sim
Deputy Editor
Bernardo Sim is the deputy editor of Out, as well as a writer and content creator. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @bernardosim.
Bernardo Sim is the deputy editor of Out, as well as a writer and content creator. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @bernardosim.
In 2022, Netflix rebooted the Australian series Heartbreak High, which originally aired in 1994 and gained a significant number of dedicated fans. The reboot is incredibly queer-inclusive, with several LGBTQ+ characters leading the new series.
Created by Hannah Carroll Chapman, the Heartbreak High reboot tells the story of students and teachers at Hartley High navigating teen romance, high school drama, sexual awakening, and racial tensions, among other topics. The eight-episode first season is full of queer characters appearing front and center on the show. The reboot has also been praised for its representation of autistic characters on TV.
Netflix's Heartbreak High just premiered on September 14, 2022, but fans are already urging the streaming service to greenlight a second season as quickly as possible. In recent months, Netflix has made headlines for renewing Heartstopper for two more seasons but canceling shows like First Kill after just one season.
With so much diversity within the characters of Heartbreak High, it sure would be wonderful to see them come back for more installments in the reboot.
Scroll through to learn more about the LGBTQ+ characters featured on Heartbreak High, which is now streaming on Netflix.
All images and character descriptions are courtesy of Netflix.
Played by James Majoos, Darren Rivers is queer and nonbinary. Rives is "the warmest snarky sh*t-stirrer you're ever likely to meet. Whilst they are outwardly brash, inwardly Darren fears they are a hard person to love."
The character of Quinni Gallagher-Jones is portrayed by Chloe Hayden. Quinni, who identifies as a lesbian, is "all literal and lateral, a brain trying to connect to a body and a heart. Besties with Darren, she's outrageous, raw, and sometimes a little bit wrongtown. Quinni is autistic, and a master of imitation and masking."
Thomas Weatherall plays Malakai Mitchell on Heartbreak High. Malakai is a bisexual character who is "athletic and full of bravado. A Bundjalung boy, and new at Hartley High, he's a basketball natural, hates sitting still, and makes friends easily."
Douglas "Ca$h" Piggott is an asexual character played by Will McDonald. Ca$h is a "drug dealer, food delivery driver, pet duck owner, eshay. Beneath the mullet, Ca$h is a complex young man quietly struggling with his identity."
Played by Joshua Heuston on Heartbreak High, Dustin "Dusty" Reid is bisexual. Dusty is "so gorgeous it hurts. He's the bass player in an indie rock band and has slept with half the girls - and even a few boys - at school, but underneath the hot aesthetic he's just as insecure as the rest of us mere humans."
Gemma Chua-Tran portrays Sasha So, a lesbian character in the Netflix reboot. Gemma is described as "the coolest, sexiest, and chiccest lesbian at the school. She comes across as well-read and highly nuanced, but is it all surface level?"