If you’re currently bedridden with the flu (as it seems that most of campus is) and are looking for new Netflix shows to binge, put Sex Education at the top of your list. The British comedic series follows Otis Milburn, an awkward, nerdy, and sexually inexperienced teen through the uncomfortable yet hilarious perils of high school while navigating his home life with a mother who works as a sex therapist. In the first season, Otis uses the knowledge he’s internalized at home to begin a sex advice business/counseling program with Maeve Wiley, the quick-witted “bad girl” that Otis befriends. Their relationship, along with other key characters such as Eric Effiong, Otis’ gay, bank-geek best friend, is key to the plot and makes for interesting character arcs for everyone.
The show is fairly raunchy with its explicit sex scenes and discussion of teenage sex lives which are often taboo in TV. Although, its humorous and quirky undertones accompanied by a genuine presence of educational information compensates for the seemingly cringy scenes. Creator Laurie Nunn has produced a show similar to Netflix’s Big Mouth in its exploration of teen sex comedy and the ways puberty can be incredibly comedic.
This show has taken the liberty to address a plethora of tough topics. The first season addresses sexuality, bullying, abortion, coming out, slut-shaming in eight one-hour-long episodes. Sex Education recently released its second season which builds on the cast of characters and plot of the first season while tacking even more tough, almost taboo topics. The show artfully and somehow amusingly addresses sexual education ignorance, mass hysteria, self-harm, sexual assault, LGBTQ+ sex, and more. While sometimes the presence of all of these topics can feel overbearing and a bit as if the creators were checking boxes, Nunn does her best to make it feel purposeful and honest. The balance of developing sex-positive themes while incorporating cringe/gross-out comedy is ideal, leaving viewers laughing and reflecting on their own sexual education.
Sex Education has easily become one of my new favorite Netflix originals and talk of a third season is exciting although the year-long wait might have me rewatching the first two seasons over again in preparation. The series is appropriate for teens and parents of teens alike, although it might be best enjoyed separately considering the fair amount of nudity.