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A class that is feared by all teachers and students alike is now a series on the most popular OTT service in the world - Netflix. Season 3 of the Sex Education TV series is a good follow-up to the second season and makes space for a great fourth as well.
This comedy-drama series is naughty, vibrant, and fun with a refreshing cast, and a great soundtrack. There's insightful reflection, tons of teen angst, and unavoidable heartbreak.
Sex Education TV Series - Plot
Set in the British countryside and revolving around the fictional Moordale high school, this sex comedy is based on the life of the Moordale school students. Series leads Otis, Maeve, and Eric (played by Asa Butterfield, Emma Mackey, and Ncuti Gatwa) are trying to survive high school in this Netflix series.
It is no secret that teens are the most difficult age group for parents to deal with and the Sex Education TV series shows us why. With raging hormones, identity crises, peer pressure, and the general struggle of being cool in school, Moordale's students have loads of issues.
Otis' mom is a sex therapist from whom he picked up a few fundamentals about therapizing another person. When a freak occurrence sees Otis and Maeve help out the school jock with a sexual problem, the duo comes up with a genius plan to monetize sex advice/counseling.
The comedy in this series arises from pure (yet controlled) chaos. Whether it's an odd living situation or a highly dysfunctional family or friendship dynamic, things are mostly light and funny. That's not to say that this sex comedy does not touch upon serious societal and social issues - it does, in spades.
Sex education covers the stigmatization of the sex act between consenting individuals, homosexuality, homophobia, hate crimes, single parenthood, women's rights, sexual assault and so much more.
It touches upon mental health issues, such as the head boy Jackson Marchetti (played by Kedar Williams-Stirling) who suffers from panic and anxiety attacks due to pushy parents.
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Sex Education TV Series - Cast and Characters
The stars of this series are Asa Butterfield, Emma Mackey, and Ncuti Gatwa. All three have turned in stellar performances with the most layered character Eric played Ncuti Gatwa.
Gatwa is wildly and appropriately expressive while being incredibly funny and entertaining. The teen drama series would be considerably different without Gatwa, and probably not in a good way.
Asa Butterfield acts well in this series and is perfectly cast in the role of the school's social misfit with an embarrassingly progressive mother. The Margot Robbie clone Emma Mackey does a great job of portraying the cold and distant Maeve with a troubled childhood and hidden genius.
Coming to the heavyweights, we have the famous Gillian Anderson who looks amazing for her age and plays the role of Otis' mother to perfection. Named Dr. Jean F Milburn, Otis's mom in this series is a sex therapist with issues such as commitment to a partner, and parenting challenges.
There is also Hannah Waddingham you would know from Ted Lasso or on Game of Thrones as the mean nun (Shame!! Shame!!). Waddingham plays the lesbian mom to the head boy of Moordale.
Mikael Persbrandt plays Jacob in the Sex Education TV series, whom you would have seen as a Viking in a small but powerful scene in Guy Ritchie's "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword."
Mimi Keene plays Ruby Matthews who is high up on the social ladder at Moordale High. Jim Howick plays the band teacher Colin whom everyone loves. Connor Swindells displays a broad range of emotions playing the principal's delinquent son Adam Groff.
Swindells' character undergoes a lot of personal growth throughout the series and is interesting to watch.
Sex Education TV Series
Here is a short synopsis (without spoilers) of all the seasons of this teen drama series on Netflix:
Season 1
The first season of the Sex Education TV series deals mostly with the lives of Otis, Maeve, Eric, and Adam to a certain extent. Otis and Eric are close friends and misfits whereas Maeve is the outcast who everyone fears and Adam is the jock version of Maeve.
All of them are brought together by their sex counseling venture directly or indirectly leading to a peek into everyone's sex life at Moordale. Dr. Jean meets Jacob in this season.
Season 2
In the second season of this comedy-drama series, the creators cover the lives of Jackson Marchetti, Ola (Jacob's daughter), Lily Iglehart (played by Tanya Reynolds), and Adam Groff, the principal's son. You also get a fair amount of Maeve's backstory, in this season, showing why she developed the gruff exterior she currently dons.
Season 3
This season feels like a bit of a finale, with the stakes being raised for everyone. Otis and Maeve get closer in this season and so do Ruby and Otis. Adam Groff makes some hard choices and so does Eric. A Dolores Umbridge-type character ( Re: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) shows up in this season, putting the whole school under duress.
You get to see how Ruby lives her life beyond school along with a school trip with plenty of hijinx. You get to see more of Eric and him reconnecting with his extended family which is always entertaining.
Should You Watch It? - Yes!
Despite the name of this series, there is no gratuitous nudity or violence in the Sex Education TV series. This comedy-drama series is a fun way to look at teen life while contemplating your existence and touching upon social issues. It is funny, smart, insightful, and asks a lot of the right questions. Go ahead and give it a watch, you won't regret it.