Netflix Star Leaving The Streamer’s Best Series
Emma Mackey, Maeve Wiley on Netflix's Sex Education, is leaving the series after the upcoming fourth season.
In what is a rarity for Netflix, one of the streaming services’ hit series is gearing up for a fifth season. Deadline reports that Emma Mackey will not be back for the next season of Sex Education. The British actress played Maeve Wiley, the shrewd business-minded bad girl that kicks off the series by suggesting one of her classmates starts running sex therapy for other high schoolers.
Asa Butterfield plays Otis Milburn, the son of a sex therapist (Gillian Anderson) using knowledge from his mother to help students. From that basic setup comes an award-winning series that explores the modern life of teenagers through all of the highs and lows of young relationships. Emma Mackey was an unknown actress when she joined Sex Education‘s incredible ensemble, discovered by the same agent that found Florence Pugh, though she’s quickly been a breakout star.
Alongside Butterfield, Anderson, and Emma Mackey in Sex Education‘s Moordale Secondary School are Ncuti Gatwa, Connor Swindells, Keder Williams-Stirling, Alistair Petrie, Mimi Keene, James Purefoy, and Jason Isaacs. The majority of the class are all young stars just starting their careers so if those names mean nothing right now, give it a few years. Asa Butterfield may be well known for Ender’s Game, but another of the cast is about to have a huge impact in the world of science-fiction.
Ncuti Gatwa, born in Rwanda but raised in Scotland, is going to be the next Doctor Who. The first black actor, and fourth Scotsman, to take on the most iconic role in British television will be leaving alongside Emma Mackey following the fourth season of Sex Education. Fans of the departing stars won’t have to wait long to see them on-screen together again.
Emma Mackey and Gatwa are both starring in Margot Robbie’s upcoming blockbuster Barbie. Gatwa will be a variant of Ken, played by Ryan Gosling, while Mackey’s role is currently unknown. Given the absurd premise of the film she could be playing anyone, from Skipper to the embodiment of a rival doll.
No matter what the part calls for, Emma Mackey has shown in both Sex Education and her award-winning role in Emily, she’s up to the task. The most recent BAFTA Rising Star Award recipient also had a starring role in Eiffel. Amazingly, her acting credits essentially end at that point, with her only other major film role coming as part of Death on the Nile‘s ensemble alongside Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, and Kenneth Branagh.
Emma Mackey may be breaking the hearts of Sex Education fans but after four highly successful seasons, it’s time for the actress to spread her wings and follow in the footsteps of her other young starlet countrywoman, Florence Pugh. Maeve was one of the best parts of the first three seasons and while her role in the upcoming fourth season has been reduced, it will be interesting to see how the writers wrapped up her storyline. Sex Education‘s fourth season is expected later this year, perhaps while Barbie is available in theaters starting on July 21.
