Netflix’s teens’ drama series “Heartbreak High” is a story about students in high school students, who are exploring their quest for love as well as the identity, passion, and beliefs they hold. The plot is loosely based on a sex-ed course or SLT, which the students are required to take following a series of hook-ups that have been revealed through the discovery of artwork.
“Heartbreak High” is the reboot of an Australian show with the identical name that was telecast on Network Ten between 1994 and 1996 and ABC TV between 1997 and 1999. While the characters and storyline differ in the new series from the original show, the students attend Hartley High in both shows. If you’ve been left to think about what the truth is about Hartley High being a real school, we’ve got the answer for you.
Is Hartley High a Real School?
There’s no need to worry. Hartley High isn’t a real school. In the original series, students are enrolled at Hartley High until series five. Then, it is shut down, and students are transferred to Hartley Heights, a nearby school. The actual Maroubra Bay High School, which is located in Maroubra, New South Wales, was used as the filming location for scenes of Hartley High on the first show. The Netflix series is also made in different locations across New South Wales, including Sydney, where the story takes place.
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The original show focuses on the day-to-day life of Generation X in Australia. The reboot hopes to replicate the same experience for Generation Z. “When we first started this process, I was like ‘We’re gonna have 50 million legacy cast [return for] every episode!’ and it was really something that Fremantle and Netflix [pushed against],” Co-creator Hannah Carroll Chapman told The Guardian in an interview in September 2022. “When we were teenagers, we got our own ‘Heartbreak High,’ and what we’re doing here is giving this generation their show.”
Race and class exploitation are two major themes prevalent in the first series. While they are essential components of the new series, Chapman and her collaborators have also fundamentally explored Generation-Z issues, including gender identity and sexual orientation.
“[Heartbreak High] was groundbreaking for its time, so the team sat down and thought, ‘What are the things that need to be discussed now?'” The executive producer Carly Heaton told the same publication. “It (class exploitation) is an integral part of what it is of the lower-middle socioeconomic category; it’s where most people lived our lives. We desire aspiration, however, in the same way that Heartbreak did it, They’re cool, and you want to be like them; however, some people are struggling, single-parent families, and people who work shift work. Television has often depicted that as a struggle and can be extremely dark, but there’s hope and love in this. If you may not have an abundance of money does not necessarily mean that you don’t enjoy a great life.”
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Chapman declared, “I don’t think at that time we were having the same conversations around queerness and neurodiversity we’re having at the moment.” The latest series reflects how inclusive the educational system has become over the past decade or more. With the advent of technology, students are more aware of their surroundings, and the new series accurately reflects the changing mindset of students.
