Heartbreak High – Picture: Netflix
Netflix’s Teenage Aussie Reboot of high heartbreak premiered in September 2022, but will it return for a second season? Early reports suggested that the show had been renewed in early October and now we have official confirmation. Here’s what we know about season 2 of high heartbreak on Netflix.
Rebooting the 90s show (available in full in most Netflix regions worldwide), high heartbreak is a modernized high school romance drama comparable to other Netflix titles in the genre, such as Elite and this year’s heartstopper.
First announced in December 2020, the series was finally released on September 14, 2022.
It was released to high critical acclaim, with many reviews praising the diversity with characters of different races, genders, and disabilities represented.
Netflix has renewed or canceled high heartbreak?
Official Renewal Status: Officially renewed on October 19, 2022
Our renewal prediction: Probable renewal reports given
On October 19, Netflix Australia confirmed that we would be returning for a second season.
According to a press release:
“School is officially in session as Netflix has announced that Heartbreak High will return for season 2.
Produced by Fremantle Australia and NewBe, Heartbreak High Season 2 will bring together the talented cast and creators in Sydney (Gadigal, Dharug, Dharawal and Ku-ring-gai lands), Australia, for pre-production and filming.”
Heartbreak High Season 2 Renewal Image – Image Courtesy of Netflix
As you’ll see below, the series got off to a rocky start on Netflix and didn’t do well beyond the borders of Australia. There were undoubtedly many reasons for this (most notably because the show’s reps actively discouraged coverage), but despite its initial bump, the series continued to find an audience and make the numbers.
The Guardian’s Michael Sun (who previously worked at Netflix Australia as a culture editor) noted that the series had been fueled by TikTok (a phenomenon we’ve seen before lifting titles like Ginny and Georgia Y purple hearts). At the time of publishing, the show had amassed 12.5 billion views on TikTok, which likely brought attention to Netflix.
Image: Netflix
On October 2, Australia’s The Daily Telegraph reported that the show had been renewed for a second season.
how good is it high heartbreak acting on Netflix?
As we noted earlier, high heartbreak got off to a bad start on Netflix worldwide.
Let’s start with the top 10 raw Netflix figures compiled by FlixPatrol.
Even in Australia, the show only reached number 5 in the first few days before peaking at the top spot on September 21 and 22 before tapering off.
Below you can see a global heat map of where the show performed best. Australia and New Zealand naturally posted the highest figures, but Eastern European countries and South Africa also performed well.
Heatmap for Heartbreak High and point count in the first month on Netflix – Picture: FlixPatrol
Moving on, Netflix top 10 site didn’t show up high heartbreak in week 1, suggesting the number was below 12.22 million. This led us to report that high heartbreak was considered a failure.
Following the show’s success on social media, viewership increased and the show broke into the top 10 for weeks 2 and 3, showing particularly impressive retention from the second through third weeks.
The show remained in the top 10 of worldwide television (English) for 3 weeks, collecting 42.61 million hours globally between September 18 and October 9, 2022.
| week period | Hours viewed (M) | Range | Week in the Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 18, 2022 to September 25, 2022 | 18,250,000 | 6 | 1 |
| September 25, 2022 to October 2, 2022 | 14,880,000 (-18%) | 5 | two |
| October 2, 2022 to October 9, 2022 | 9,480,000 (-36%) | 8 | 3 |
What about the external demand for the program?
TelevisionStats.com provides information on more traditional sources (such as Wikipedia, Google Search Trends, Twitter, Reddit, etc.) but notably does not include TikTok.
As a result, the show only became the twenty-eighth most requested show since its release.
Heartbreak High Lawsuit – Picture: TelevisionStats.com
are you happy to see high heartbreak coming back for a second season? Let us know in the comments below.