Will 'Sex Education' End With Season 4, Or What?
Sex Education, one of the biggest breakout hits on Netflix, is coming back later this year for a fourth (and possible final) season. Set across the pond in England, the show follows a teen named Otis (Asa Butterfield) who starts a sex-therapy clinic for high-school students inspired by his mom’s work in the field (his mother is played by Gillian Anderson).
By the end of the series' third season, Otis' clinic (and Moordale Secondary School itself) has gone bust, shut down by a radical new headmistress (Jemima Kirke). So what's next for our favorite sex-obsessed teens?
Read on for details about Season 4 of Sex Education, including who from the cast will (and won't) return, and whether this is the show's last hurrah.
What happened in the Sex Education Season 3 finale?
Season 3 of the popular British Netflix show ended in a way that forces fresh starts on almost all of the main characters. Maeve (Emma Mackey) receives a scholarship to study in the United States and ends the season on her way out of town, while the Moordale Secondary School board decides to shut the school down, leaving favorites like Otis and his best friend, Eric (Ncuti Gatwa), to start over in a new location.
Meantime, Otis’ sex-positive mom gives birth to a child and discovers that her boyfriend, Jakob (Mikael Persbrandt), isn’t the father.
Related: All About Sex Lives of College Girls Season 3
What is the Sex Education Season 4 release date?
Netflix renewed the series in September 2021 and wrapped production in February 2023, but the streamer has yet to announced an official release date. The fourth season could potentially drop as soon as September 2023, following suit from Season 3.
Is Season 4 the last season of Sex Education?
Netflix hasn’t announced whether Season 4 will be the last season of the series, but it will be the last for at least two key cast-members. Both Mackey (Maeve) and Gatwa (Eric) confirmed that they wouldn’t return for a potential fifth season.
“No, I don't think I'll be in Season 5. I've said goodbye to Maeve,” Mackey told Radio Times. For his part, Gatwa will be busy with the Doctor Who franchise (he was cast in May 2022 as the first Black actor to lead the long-running series).
Related: Meet the New Doctor Who
Who is cast in Sex Education Season 4?
To start, Asa Butterfield, Emma Mackey and Ncuti Gatwa are all set to reprise their roles as Otis, Maeve and Eric, respectively, although Mackey noted her screen time this season will be “limited."
Otis and Maeve’s will-they-won’t-they relationship and founding of an underground sex-therapy service has propelled the series forward, while Eric’s journey with identity has provided heart to the story.
Asa Butterfield as Otis
Sam Taylor/NETFLIX
Emma Mackey as Maeve
Sam Taylor/NETFLIX
Ncuti Gatwa as Eric
Sam Taylor/NETFLIX
Connor Swindells as Adam
Sam Taylor/NETFLIX
Connor Swindells will return as Eric’s on-again-off-again secret boyfriend, Adam Groff.
Gillian Anderson as Dr. Jean Milburn
Sam Taylor/NETFLIX
Gillian Anderson is returning as Otis’ sex therapist mom Dr. Jean Milburn, who gave birth to a child at the end of Season 3 only to realize that her boyfriend, Jakob, isn’t the father.
Mikael Persbrandt as Jakob
Sam Taylor/NETFLIX
Persbrandt hasn’t been confirmed for Season 3, although it seems likely he will return, at least for long enough to find out he's not the dad.
Aimee Lou Wood as Aimee
Sam Taylor/NETFLIX
Though Maeve will be across the pond, her bestie Aimee (Aimee Lou Wood) will appear in Season 4 and will be subject to a host of new experiences. “She's not got her best friend with her, she's not got a boyfriend for the first time ever. Also, she's at this new school and she doesn't have any mates,” Wood told HypeBae.
Other returning cast members include Alistair Petrie and Samantha Spiro who will support as Adam's parents, Michael and Maureen, respectively. At school, Kedar Williams-Stirling will return as Jackson and Chinenya Ezeudu as Viv, but the cool-kid “Untouchables” circle is dwindling. Dua Saleh and Mimi Keene will return as Cal and Ruby, respectively, but they’ll be without Simone Ashley as Olivia, as the actress is tied up with her breakout Bridgerton success.
Related: All There Is to Know About Bridgerton Season 3
There will be plenty of new faces to fill in the gaps. Dan Levy will join as Thomas Molloy, Maeve’s U.S. mentor, and Jodie Turner-Smith has also joined the cast, though little is known about her role other than the fact that she will exclusively appear across from Gatwa. Others joining the cast are Thaddea Graham, Marie Reuther, Felix Mufti, Anthony Lexa, Alexandra James and Imani Yahshua.
Who from the Sex Education cast is not returning for Season 4?
Sadly, a few faces are already gone from the show, including:
Patricia Allison as Ola
Patricia Allison will not return as Jakob's daughter, Ola. “I absolutely have loved being on Sex Education so, so much, and playing Ola," Allison said on the London-based Capital Xtra radio station’s breakfast show. "But unfortunately, I won't be joining the team for Season 4."
Tanya Reynolds as Lily
“Lily is not coming back either,” Reynolds separately told Digital Spy. “I think that for Lily, her storyline was just wrapped up quite nicely at the end of Season 3. So she's got no loose ends to tie up, she had quite a happy ending.”
Simone Ashley as Olivia
As previously mentioned, she will not return as popular girl Olivia.
Rakhee Thakrar as Emily
Given the dissolution of Moordale Secondary School, Rakhee Thakrar is out as English teacher Emily.
Are there any spoilers for Sex Education Season 4?
Netflix has released a meaty synopsis for the upcoming season, which reads in part: “Following the closure of Moordale Secondary, Otis and Eric now face a new frontier—their first day at Cavendish Sixth Form College. Otis is nervous about setting up his new clinic, whilst Eric is praying they won't be losers again. But Cavendish is a culture shock for all the Moordale students—they thought they were progressive but this new college is another level."
Apparently, the school features "daily yoga in the communal garden, a strong sustainability vibe and a group of kids who are popular for being… kind?!"
Over in the United States, "Maeve is living her dream at prestigious Wallace University, being taught by cult author Thomas Molloy. Otis is pining after her, whilst adjusting to not being an only child at home, or the only therapist on campus…”
On the progressive front, we know that the series is doubling down on its inclusive storytelling by including two trans characters in the new season. In a casting call, the characters Abbi and Kent were described as a “power couple” with Abbi being characterized as a “90s Winona Ryder” type who is the “queen bee of her college.”
Will Otis and Maeve end up together in Sex Education Season 4?
As for Maeve and Otis’ relationship, Butterfield didn’t exactly share how they’ll fare with a time difference and long-distance, but he did tease that the show will feel different. “We're in the new school, new locations and things have changed up a bit. And we've got some new characters,” he told Radio Times. “It's still got the core team involved and it's been fun. I mean, we all know each other so well at this point, so it's a great time and it's a laugh.”
Wood elaborated that the new setting will also shake things up for the characters. “The characters feel like they're in very new territory because they literally are, they're at a new school," she told Digital Spy. "A lot of our feeling slightly off-center is actually also just because of what is happening in the story, which is that they are [at] a new school…there's a lot of newness for all of the characters and I think that that does make the show feel very new."
How many episodes are in Season 4 of Sex Education?
There hasn’t been an official confirmation, but the fourth season will likely follow the pattern set forth by the previous installments, which included 8 episodes per season.
Is there a trailer for Season 4 of Sex Education?
Not yet. Netflix will likely drop a trailer closer to the season's release.
How to watch Sex Education Season 4
Sex Education Season 4 will stream exclusively on Netflix. If you’re looking to catch up in time for the new season, you can find the first three seasons streaming on the platform right now.