The reviews are warm and unusually consistent. Most critics find this adaptation of Alice Oseman’s graphic novels sweet, sincere and kind, and mean all three as praise: several set it against the bleaker run of teen dramas and prefer it for its optimism and its interest in care rather than cruelty. The praise clusters on tone and on the leads, with the chemistry between Kit Connor and Joe Locke singled out more than once, and the supporting cast credited with distinct, well-drawn characters. Its faithfulness to the source, comic-book flourishes included, is generally counted a strength.
The spread is narrow. The one mixed notice, from Radio Times, admires the ethos and the representation but finds too little plot or entertainment for anyone over sixteen, and thinks the series is aimed squarely at younger viewers. Nobody else presses the point, though a few concede the school dramas are minor. The disagreement is less about quality than about who the show is for.