The Gillian Anderson Drama Series On Netflix That Will Make You Laugh And Cry
Since 2019, Netflix’s comedy-drama, Sex Education has brought audiences barrels of laughs as the leading teens grapple with the harsh realities of puberty and growing up. Having just wrapped its fourth and final season, which landed on the streamer on September 21, the entire show is available for Netflix subscribers to binge. Featuring a well-balanced mix of familiar and up-and-coming faces, Sex Education is a series you won’t want to miss out on.
Gillian Anderson stars in the acclaimed dramedy Sex Education streaming on Netflix.
The British-based series takes place in Moordale, a fictional town in which the main characters of Sex Education live, with their lives intertwined with the rest of the community. With all the makings of a typical teen drama, the comedy shakes things up and adds a lighter side to the questions of sex that plague those going through puberty.
The series also shows that these sometimes uncomfortable situations don’t necessarily slow down as you get older, as the adults on the series have their own relationship drama playing out.
Despite Sex Education having a divisive plot for some, it quickly rose through the ranks of critical acclaim…
Sex Education stars Asa Butterfield (The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas) as Otis, a young man already jaded when it comes to intimacy as his mother, Jean (Gillian Anderson, The X-Files) is a sex therapist who has always had an open door policy when it comes to sexual relationships. The first season sees Otis pair up with his friend, Maeve (Emma Mackey, Emily) to run a sex therapy clinic for students in need at their high school.
Throughout the next three seasons, Otis, Maeve, and their friend Eric (Ncuti Gatwa, Doctor Who) help their clueless peers with all of their questions about love and beyond.
Sex Education also features performances from Conor Swindells (SAS: Rogue Heroes), Alistair Petrie (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Kedar Williams-Stirling (Wolfblood), Mimi Keene (After Everything), and Aimee Lou Wood (People, Places and Things).
Despite Sex Education having a divisive plot for some, it quickly rose through the ranks of critical acclaim, raking in nothing less than a 91% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes during its four-season run. Each season also continued to gain momentum in the awards circuit with mentions coming from the likes of the BAFTA TV Awards, GLAAD Media Awards, and Critics’ Choice Television Awards.
Although Sex Education helped bring in viewers with its familiar names including The X-Files and The Fall star Gillian Anderson, it would be the younger cast members who would prove to make it the success that it came to be.
From there, his star only blossomed further when he took on the titular role in Martin Scorcese’s 2011 adventure flick, Hugo, with performances in Ender’s Game and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
With a handful of our favorite teen-centered dramas coming to an end (we’re looking at you Stranger Things), it’s tough to bid adieu to another one, especially when it was as free-spirited as Sex Education.
While Butterfield’s career was further bolstered by Sex Education, it became a necessary pillar for his co-star, Emma Mackey. The boost that the budding star needed to showcase her talents to Hollywood, the Netflix series led Mackey on to get a slew of roles in celebrated titles including Emily, Death on the Nile, and Barbie. It also led her to her first major award mention when she received a nomination for Best Female Comedy Performance at the 2021 BAFTA TV Awards.
And then, there’s Ncuti Gatwa who, like Mackey, had held a few roles prior to Sex Education with the series really putting him on the map. Also like Mackey, Gatwa recently appeared in Greta Gerwig’s summer blockbuster, Barbie, and will also soon be seen in Apple TV+’s miniseries, Masters of the Air. Perhaps most exciting for Gatwa is that Sex Education helped land him the role of the Fifteenth Doctor on the highly-anticipated upcoming season of Doctor Who.
With a handful of our favorite teen-centered dramas coming to an end (we’re looking at you Stranger Things), it’s tough to bid adieu to another one, especially when it was as free-spirited as Sex Education. For four seasons, the cast brought levity to one of the most awkward times in a teenager’s life while also tying in deeper themes of compassion and acceptance. The good news for Netflix fans is that you can continue to relive the magic of the entire series as every episode of Sex Education is available for streaming now.
