The final eight episodes of the Netflix series “Sex Education” are dropping in time for the weekend. The series has become a launching pad for a new generation of British stars and a slow-roll sleeper hit for the streaming service since it debuted nearly five years ago. However, the series never broke through in America to become the smash hit it deserved to be.
The series was willing to consider both the positives and negatives of everything from sending naked selfies when you are technically underage to the decision to get an abortion.
It was initially billed as a vehicle for Asa Butterfield, one of many British child actors who struggled to find footing as teen heartthrobs. Butterfield’s rocket to box office blockbusters sputtered after he was cast in 2013’s “Ender’s Game,” which was supposed to be the first in a potential Orson Scott Card franchise. However, the film opened soft and never got a sequel. Netflix touted Butterfield as awkward teen Otis Milburn, alongside British American “X-Files” star Gillian Anderson as Jean, his self-assured sex therapist mother.
The show hinged on the premise that Otis, having subconsciously picked up on his mother’s teachings, becomes a guru of sorts for his fellow students, all of whom are just as sexually confused and awkward as he is, even if they project confidence. He and his BFF, Eric (Ncuti Gatwa), start a business with Otis as a counselor to those panicking about problems too embarrassing to take to adults. Even as Otis gains popularity as the school’s unofficial sex therapist, he has difficulty expressing his own feelings to the girl he’s crushing on, Maeve (Emma Mackey).
Through its first three seasons, ‘Sex Education” managed to release new episodes despite the pandemic, when it drew respectable audiences and tackled serious issues about coming of age and sex with humor. It even managed to make the Netflix self-reported Top 10 list at one point. However, it never was one of those shows Netflix proudly touted as a record breaker, overshadowed by larger hits like “Bridgerton” (which was more mainstream in its sexual content) and “Stranger Things” (which was more friendly to American teen audiences).
Going into season four, Netflix seemed uncertain about whether it would try to continue the series as the original cast of characters was reaching graduation. As with many shows set in high school, showrunners have three choices: follow the original cast to college, stay in high school and let younger stars take over or call it a day and write a series finale. At first, it seemed like the series might try to continue, bringing aboard up-and-comers Thaddea Graham (“Us”), Lisa McGrillis (“Mum”) and Jodie Turner-Smith (“Anne Boleyn”) to replace some of the characters set to depart. However, it wasn’t long before that plan was scrapped and the show’s ending was announced.
It was a bit of a surprise, considering the main cast are rapidly becoming household names. The best-known (apart from Anderson) is Gatwa, who has been cast as the next Doctor on “Doctor Who” and is set to be introduced to the long-running legacy series in November when it debuts on Disney+. Simone Ashley is also recognizable to audiences for her turn on “Bridgerton” season two as Kate Shah. Mackey landed the rising star BAFTA this year for starring in indie films like “Emily,” about the famous Brontë sister who wrote “Wuthering Heights.” And Connor Swindells, who plays heteronormative jock-turned-Eric’s love interest Adam, now leads the BBC smash hit “SAS Rogue Heroes” (sadly lost on MGM+ over here). At this point, Butterfield barely manages to rate beside them, having to settle for holiday rom-coms like “Your Christmas or Mine?”
So why isn’t “Sex Education” a bigger deal? The name alone is problematic for an American audience, with more conservative parents wary of the concept. But it was also the show’s subject matter. “Sex Education” isn’t like your typical HBO “The Sex Lives of College Girls” or “Sex and the City,” which feature hetero girls being titillating and horny with a side of lesbianism thrown in and a gay BFF or two. It explored sex from all angles. It never demonized anything other than nonconsent. The series was willing to consider both the positives and negatives of everything from sending naked selfies when you are technically underage to the decision to get an abortion. Episodes positively portrayed subjects like gay porn, wet dreams, pansexuality, masturbation and drug use. It boldly confronted issues like priapism and other little-discussed side effects from Viagra, and it was open about the failures of abstinence-only education.
Had the show ever gotten as big as “Stranger Things” in America, Netflix might have had to deal with how controversial Americans find some of the British attitudes that the show treated as common sense. Perhaps it would have forced the show to censor itself in a way it wouldn’t have wanted to or, worse, to end before it was ready. Though it’s unfair the series never became the breakout hit it deserved to be, by staying just under the radar, “Sex Education” can end now on its own terms. If only all of our sexual experiences could be so lucky.