Netflix's Sex Education Is Making A Huge Change For Season 4 & Fans Aren't Happy
On September 21, the fourth and final season of "Sex Education" is hitting Netflix. It won't be the same exact series, however, that fans have come to love. In an interview with The Guardian, "Sex Education" creator Laurie Nunn revealed that the show's biggest stars — Otis (Asa Butterfield), Eric (Ncuti Gatwa), and Maeve (Emma Mackey) — will be getting less screen time than usual.
Moreover, the core threesome will be more separate from one another than ever. Maeve will be studying stateside, Eric is set to explore his queer identity as it relates to his Christianity (and make some new friends along the way), and Otis is consequently feeling more isolated than ever. Even his mother, played by Gillian Anderson, will have less time for Otis as she deals with postpartum depression.
Season 4 will highlight the show's trans characters, including Cal (Dua Saleh), the American Moorhead student who made their debut in Season 3. The forthcoming season is also introducing newcomers Abbi (Anthony Lexa), a trans woman, and Roman (Felix Mufti), a trans man.
"In the conversations around trans politics, trans people are so often completely excluded from the conversation — so we really wanted to centre trans voices," Nunn said. "[Given] some of the things that are happening globally at the moment, in terms of the attack on trans people — I would like to think that our show is as inclusive as it can be, [so] it felt really important that we tell that story."
Even though Nunn's changes to "Sex Education" are admirable, some fans are skeptical of the choice to sideline the main characters in the final season.
Sex Education is shaking up the cast and centering trans characters
Fans are largely in agreement that introducing so many new voices is a risky creative choice, and they want to see Otis, Eric, and Maeve's storylines end in a meaningful way — not as an afterthought. "Yeah my excitement has left," wrote u/unikmari. "To see that in the final season they've made the main characters take a step back even further makes zero sense."
For u/campb159, the sudden focus on trans characters feels like too little too late. "I understand the importance of representation on TV and I 100% think these kind of characters should be integrated into mainstream shows and not just siloed into LGBTQ+ centered shows," they wrote. "But if Laurie really wanted people to embrace these characters, why wait until now to add them? Now, when the audience is already emotionally invested in the core characters and the story revolving around those characters?"
The number of characters in Season 4 shouldn't be too overwhelming, since some of the show's cast members aren't returning. Tanya Reynolds, who played the eccentric Lily, isn't coming back, nor is Patricia Allison, who played her love interest, Ola. Simone Ashley's Olivia left "Sex Education" for greener pastures, otherwise known as "Bridgerton."
Nunn still hopes that fans appreciate her vision, even if it looks a little different. "I'm hopeful that there's a bittersweetness to [the ending], and that there's everything people want in there, even though it might not be wrapped up completely perfectly."