Sex Education season 4 to deliver movie-length last-ever episode – and fans are thrilled
Sex Education season 4 has many surprises ahead. (Netflix/Samuel Taylor)
As anticipation builds for the fourth and final season of hit Netflix series, Sex Education, details around the final run of episodes are beginning to emerge – and serving up some welcome surprises.
After a two-year long wait, Sex Education finally returns to screens on 21 September with major changes ahead for the chaotic and sexually-curious collection of students.
The end of season three saw Moordale shut its doors for good as sex clinic maestro Otis (Asa Butterfield), sassy best friend Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) and fellow students Maeve (Emma Mackey), Aimee (Aimee Lou Wood) and Adam (Connor Swindells) adjust to life at the intense Cavendish Sixth Form College.
After dropping first look images and a teaser trailer, Netflix have teased what sexual crises lie ahead for our cast of characters in a social media post on Monday (4 September). The screenshots of the episode blurb have certain essential words blurred out, leaving it to fans to piece the plot together.
So what can we expect from season four? Maeve kicks off the season studying in America, but will the distance between her and Otis threaten their newly-formed romance or will ex-girlfriend Ruby (Mimi Keene) try and rekindle their relationship?
Meanwhile, love troubles continue to plague Eric, who broke things off with classmate Adam at the end of season three. And Jackson (Kedar Williams-Striling), best friend Viv (Chinenye Ezeudu) and non-binary icon Cal (Dua Saleh) seem to get swept into a love triangle as they all try to figure out their feelings, (and sexualities?).
Elsewhere, Otis’ mother Jean (Gillian Anderson) seems to struggle with life as a new mum, while Adam and his father (and former headmaster) Michael (Alistair Petrie) slowly begin to heal their ruptured relationship.
Audiences can also expect the introduction of a trans “power couple” (although details are still under wraps), Jodie Turner-Smith stepping into the role of Eric’s confidante and Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek) as Thomas Molloy, Maeve’s cultish American tutor.
That’s not all. Alongside the cryptic descriptions, Netflix also shared the runtime for each episode, with most coming in around the one-hour mark. However, in a surprise that has delighted fans, the season finale will clock in at a feature-length 83 minutes, implying an epic ending to the beloved Netflix series.
Naturally, fans are spiralling at all the sexy shenanigans Sex Education season 4 promises and they are sharing all their theories.
Many are speculating an “identity crisis” is on the cards for Jackson, who spent season three questioning whether he was actually straight.
Meanwhile, some are rooting for Jean’s happiness after welcoming a baby.
But mostly, people are very excited for the “movie-length” season finale.
As one of Netflix’s most popular series comes to a close, Gatwa recently reflected on the impact of playing a “nuanced” gay Black student as he described himself as ‘queer’ for the first time.
“He’s so fierce and unashamed. It was healing for me,” the incoming star of Doctor Who told Elle. “It undid a lot of the internalised hate I had. I’ve experienced racism my whole life, and while I always believed in myself, always knew [racists] were stupid and uneducated, I guess it did misinform my view of how the world works.
“It makes you think everyone has that opinion and you’ll constantly have to fight through life – then you learn that you don’t: you can find a tribe, you can find your people.”
Sex Education season one to three are now streaming on Netflix. Season four arrives on 21 September, 2023.
