Ukazu says, a rising tide lifts all boats, including the S.S. Check, Please! She’s hopeful that the success of Heated Rivalry, as well as another queer romance graphic novel-turned-TV show Heartstopper, will make the dream of seeing her work onscreen into a reality: The book has been optioned for adaptation. — Vanity Fair
Check, Please! has been optioned for a film/television adaptation. A while ago, actually—and that’s lovely. Nevertheless, the vast majority of options do not become television because it takes a million things going right to get projects off the ground.
That being said.
Ahem.
Speaking of getting projects off the ground...
From when Bitty first stepped out into the rink at Faber, to when he kissed the ice at graduation, we've all been part of this fun, weird, magical world of Samwell hockey. But when I left the world of Samwell hockey, I left knowing Jack and Bitty's story was done. Bitty's journey as the first openly gay NCAA Division I hockey captain was done. We baked the last pie; we shut off the lights at the kegster; the story was complete.
…But as I looked around I realized, I had one more story to tell.
Which is why I'm thrilled to announce that a brand new volume of Check, Please! will be serialized in 2026. Dozens of new comics, exciting update drops, your favorite characters with brand new storylines, and characters you've yet to meet.
Hello, Internet Land—SMH is coming home.
This fifth year of Check, Please! will be filled with shenanigans, drama, hockey, pies, Haus parties, and a new message of acceptance that is near and dear to me. And it's been brewing over the last year and half! But with the latest boom in queer hockey stories, I figured, hey! ¯\(ツ)/¯ Here's another one to look forward to. :)
Marginalized athletes still face harmful bigotry, and for this reason, queer sports stories are more important than ever. I love Samwell hockey and how each of you has embraced this roster of athletes.
There's so much more to come.
Ngozi
🏒🥧❤️
=
MORE NEWS? SURE:
I’ll be at Emerald City Comic Con 2026, and yes, I will be dropping exclusive details about Check, Please! Year Fived during my spotlight panel: Ngozi Ukazu - From Check, Please! to DC and Back! (Be there!)
Follow me on Patreon for behind-the-scenes on the making of Check, Please!: Year Five. I'm gonna livestream...a lot.
If only there were an original mm romance that you could read right now while you wait for more Year Five updates! Good news—John Rich & The Big Picture is very cute and laugh-out-loud funny and you can read it now, for free.
My latest graphic novel FLIP has made the best-of lists for the New York Public Library, the A.V. Club, Kirkus Books, School & Library Journal—and more. Get it here.
This is why “queer” is so important for questioning people who know they’re not cishet but haven’t figured out every last micro-label yet, or people whose labels are changing over time, or for someone who doesn’t feel comfortable sharing every last detail of their journey, or, or, or.
no one on the smh (not even rans believe it or not) knows that holster’s been in theater like almost the entire time he’s been at samwell. and absolutely not a soul from the drama club knows he’s on the hockey team. so imagine his surprise when he’s studying for finals in his room and he hears a very familiar “CALL TIME IS AT 4 SHARP” and he perks up and is then filled with dread at the realization that denice ford is about to blow his cover to bits
Summer before their junior year Ransom & Holster create a secret language using kazoos and are absolutely unbearable all of preseason and most of September
reading through the extras today and i’d just like to celebrate the fact that the precursor to dex’s “Hot Gay Bartender” look was apparently “47-Year-Old White Dad Gets Kinda Dressed Up to Go to an Applebee’s”
going 2 bang pots and pans together and say that jack zimmermann and kent person were not the problem for each other, it was canadian junior hockey and the environment surrounding that was the problem
vaporwave
kaledo-art
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baratheonpilled
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