'Heartbreak High': Is the new Netflix series a reboot of the 90s original?

Early evening teen drama in the 90s was all about Heartbreak High - with grittier storylines than Neighbours and Home and Away, it was a must-watch in the days before streaming and online content expanded the world of viewing exponentially.

Fans of the original Aussie series might have noticed its name popping up again recently, this time on Netflix - but is the new series a remake, a reboot, or something entirely different?

Is Netflix's Heartbreak High a reboot of the original?

The new series is still set in the familiar Australian secondary school Hartley High, but it's not a complete remake as this time the story has moved on 20 years.

Obviously, life as a teen in 2022 is somewhat different to how it was between 1994 and 1999 when the original series aired, and the new show reflects that - with smartphones centre of many of the storylines.

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Crossing over to Netflix rather than being confined to the early evening slot on BBC Two (or in a heavily edited form on CBBC) means that the show can much more accurately reflect the teenage characters, so expect a lot more sex and much more swearing.

The series star is Amerie (Ayesha Madon) who's thrown into the worst possible high school existence when her best friend Harper (Asher Yasbincek) dumps her and seemingly the whole school turns against her.

But new friends and a new romance are just around the corner and Amerie learns big things about herself, while trying to reconcile with Harper and come to terms with a traumatic past event at a music festival they were at together.

Who starred in Heartbreak High in the 90s?

The original cast that 90s teens couldn't get enough of included Alex Dimitriades as Nick, Sarah Lambert as Christina, Katherine Halliday as Rose, Salvatore Coco as Con and Abi Tucker as Jodie.

A later, memorable cast addition was Callan Mulvey as Drazic, and Ada Nicodemou, who went on to star as Leah Patterson in Home and Away, joined in series two as Katerina.

Neighbours fans might also remember Scott Major being in the original cast, who went on to play Lucas Fitzgerald on Ramsay Street.

When is Heartbreak High on TV?

The new series of Heartbreak High is available to stream on Netflix now, after launching on Wednesday, 14 September.

All episodes are streaming now.

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