Netflix announced today that Season 3 of Heartstopper will premiere in October.

The eight-episode third season will focus on the continuation and deepening of Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick’s (Kit Connor) relationship.

“Season 2 ended with Nick beginning to understand the extent of Charlie’s mental health issues, and it’s this that will drive the story through Season 3,” series creator Alice Oseman Oseman told Netflix’s Tudum. “While Heartstopper will always celebrate the joyful and point towards hope, I’m really excited that we are allowing the tone of the show to mature alongside our beloved characters growing up. Mental health, sex, university ambitions, and more: Nick, Charlie, and the Heartstopper teens are getting older, learning more about themselves and each other, and experiencing new desires, new fears, and new joys as they approach adulthood.”

In Season 3, per the official logline: “Charlie would like to tell Nick that he loves him. Nick also has something important to say to Charlie. As the summer holiday ends and the months race on, the friends begin to realize that the school year will come with both its joys and its challenges. As they learn more about each other and their relationships, plan social events and parties and start thinking about university choices, everyone must learn to lean on those they love when life doesn’t go to plan.”

In November, Oseman shared via Instagram that Season 3 would also introduce a key character from her first novel, Solitaire. “We’re thrilled to be welcoming Darragh Hand as Michael Holden to the Heartstopper family,” she wrote. “Michael is a quirky, eccentric optimist with a sunshine disposition, and it was a challenge to find someone who I felt truly channelled Michael from the books. But then Darragh came along and warmed our hearts, made us all laugh so much and perfectly complimented Jenny Walser’s Tori… ”