Just days before the release of HIT ME HARD AND SOFT in May, a sneak preview of Billie Eilish’s “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” debuted in the first teaser for Heartstopper season 3. It perfectly underscored a moment where Charlie Spring contemplates saying “I love you” to his boyfriend, Nick Nelson.
Season 3 of Heartstopper debuted on Netflix Oct. 3 and another Billie song – “BLUE” – is featured in the show itself, this time soundtracking an emotional moment in episode four. Series creator Alice Oseman and producer Patrick Walters tell ABC Audio they were lucky enough to preview HIT ME HARD AND SOFT before the public got to hear it.
“Yeah, we were all sat in a dark screening room, and our music supervisor had to come in with like a physical copy — because it's top secret — of the new album,” Oseman says. “And we all sat in this room and just listened to several of the songs and it was so much fun.”
“We had this specific scene in mind in episode four where we hoped that one of Billie's songs could be used,” Oseman adds. “So we were really thinking of that moment, and we've landed on that one song and we were like, 'OK, that's kind of perfect.'”
Oseman and Walters say they’re really involved in all the music chosen for the show. This season’s soundtrack also features “good 4 u” by Olivia Rodrigo, as well as up-and-coming artists Griff, Olivia Dean and beabadoobee.
“It's basically the music we like to listen to a lot of the time,” Walters says. “We have a playlist that [we're] adding songs to throughout the development process and we give that playlist over to the editors when we're shooting the show. ... It's a fun process."