Teen shows that center around sex and romance are nothing new. In fact, if you turn on your TV right now, there are likely multiple shows that deal with these issues playing as you read this. Yet, when Netflix’s Sex Education became available for binging on January 11, it felt like the writers had tapped into new and unexplored territory, approaching sex and romance through the teenage lens from an entirely new angle: inclusivity.
Sex Education follows Otis Milburn, a sexually repressed teenager whose mother happens to be a well-known sex therapist. He becomes involved in a clinic, giving advice to his classmates after realizing, with the help of Maeve Wiley, that he can be quite knowledgeable despite his inexperience. Meanwhile, his best friend, Eric Effiong, battles expressing his sexuality whilst coming from a religious family. Sex Education’s uniqueness stems not only from its premise, which creates the basis for a more nuanced and educated discussion of sex, but from it’s cast: each and every character, including those in the background, provide an effortless level of inclusivity and diversity that elevates the setting and provides a window into what teenage romance actually looks like.
Issues like not being able to orgasm, not feeling connected to one’s partner, and exploring masturbation — all of which are usually kept away from the limelight— are exposed and discussed, examined for what they are: issues that everyone, at one point or another, deals with and prefers not to talk about. Sex Education helps normalize taboo subjects while ultimately approaching them in ways that feel natural, making it unlike any other teen show you’ve ever seen before.
The show is reported by Netflix to have been watched by 40 million people over the course of its first four weeks, an impressive number which begs the question: where’s season 2? As of right now, Netflix hasn’t released any plans to drop a Season 2, but with those impressive numbers, we’re certainly counting on it. In the meantime, feel free to stick to videos of the cast being adorable — that’s where I’ll be.