10 Reasons Why I'm Addicted to Sex Education

(The Netflix Series that is (not just some weird fetish with high school biology lessons and anatomical diagrams), although that said, my actual sex education whilst in my teens was pretty poor.)

No, I’m not referring to my own learnings of the birds and the bees, but of course referring to the Netflix TV series Sex Education, which has become my latest binge watch TV show (and replaced the gaping hole that the end of Stranger Things left in my life!)

If you haven’t heard of it yet, Sex Education follows the life of 16 year old Otis, the son of a sex therapist (played by none other than X Files Scully Gillian Anderson – except with a wonderfully perfected posh British accent). Despite being less than experienced himself, Otis ends up getting launched into a new role of providing sex therapy to his school mates as part of a money making initiative with his classroom crush Maeve.

If you haven’t started watching it yet, here are 10 reasons why you should.

Don’t be fooled by the name – this isn’t some weird scientific documentary or reality show about teenagers posing the ‘ins and outs’ of their sex queries – Sex Education is the latest hit drama on Netflix that hit our screens at the start of January – and give the first episode 10 minutes of your time and I guarantee you will be sucked in as quickly as we did. Sex Education is about far more than just sex – it’s about learning to love yourself, being comfortable in your own skin and not being scared to be the person you are meant to be. A perfect blend of drama, comedy and romance.
Just like most teenager’s brains (and probably therefore done by the producers on purpose) the setting of Sex Education is more than somewhat confused. Despite rocking a totally nostalgic 80’s vibe, the series is set in the present day – something you very quickly figure out by the presence of snapchat and mobile phones. There is also a hugely American feel to the ‘wear your own clothes’ high school with lockers and gyms and classrooms not dissimilar to a modern day Grease, and the houses represent something you’d expect to find in the outskirts of Texas, yet it is in fact, about as British as you can get. Whilst you WILL spend a lot of time trying to understand where indeed the show is set (at least for the first two episodes), the lack of defined location or era has a somewhat magical appeal.
Sex Education has an awesome cast – a perfect mix of established actor and those appearing on our screens in leading roles for the first time. It’s great to see Gillian Anderson back on our screens, only this time without her husky iconic lispy voice but instead an incredibly polished British accent. As a sex therapist, her free speaking, incredibly modern style of parenting is both embarrassing and endearing, and her relationship with her son (with no consistent father figure on the scene) is highly amusing to watch.
Asa Butterfield, the actor who plays the lead role of Otis represents the conflicts of a teenage brain perfectly – battling his own issues with sex and feelings as well as trying to manage the embarrassment of being known as the sex therapist’s son! You may also recognise him from his younger years as the boy in striped pyjamas – which if you haven’t seen either- go and watch it now!
Sex Education knows no boundaries and covers extremely diverse content – from blow jobs to LGBT themes, different ethic backgrounds and even more sensitive issues such as abortion and the difficulties of coming our to your family – the content covered has no limits.
Sex Education has an awesome soundtrack – again slightly confused in terms of era, the music is an eclectic mix of classic power ballads and modern day hits.
Sex Education covers both extreme and relatable topics all mixed into one episode. From the more extreme such as the headmaster’s son learning to appreciate his elephant sized penis by flashing to the entire school (yes really) and the girls learning how not to vomit during felacio – to the more common sex issues such as being uncomfortable with our bodies, having sex in the dark or coping with inappropriate dreams, many of the scenes cover real issues that many of us may have experienced during our teens.
You very quickly learn to care about the characters – from Eric (by far my favourite character) learning to adjust to his sexuality, to Otis trying to become comfortable with his own feelings, and Maeve who has a reputation as the school slag only to get caught a little deeper than she ever thought she would (no pun intended!)
It appears we’re not the only ones who love the show – it’s just been revealed that the second series is coming soon!
No spoilers here – the end of the series was not what I had hoped for but like every good love story, and in fact every relationship I’ve ever know, the path of true love doesn’t always run smoothly, and you can’t have a rainbow without some rain!!

Have you been watching? What are your thoughts?

*Image source – Netflix*

1 Comment