The Big Picture
- Sex Education should consider a spinoff focused on supporting characters rather than the main stars to avoid being repetitive.
- Lily and Ola would be ideal candidates for a spinoff, as their relationship was a highlight of the show.
- Eric Effiong, a fan favorite, would be the most compelling character to follow in a spinoff as he navigates life outside Moordale.
On September 21, Sex Education returns to Netflix for its fourth and final season. The series first got our attention with that title and its clever premise, which sees an awkward and sexually repressed teenage boy named Otis (Asa Butterfield) so messed up, partially thanks to living under the same roof as his sex therapist mother, Jean (Gillian Anderson), that he decides to start his own sex therapy side hustle at school. After all, who needs more advice about sex than horny and confused teens?
Sex Education has always been about more than just Jean and Otis though. It’s an ensemble comedy drama, spending just as much time with Otis’ friends as it does with him. For three seasons, we’ve seen how those friendships have affected Otis and vice versa, as Otis and those around him, including his mother, experience highs and lows, and falling in and out of love. As we get ready to say goodbye, there has been talk, including from the series’ creator, Laurie Nunn, of a spinoff. Nunn told Netflix on the possibility of revisiting the Sex Education characters, “Moordale (the school where the series takes place) is a really rich world, and writing about teenagers is always a lot of fun. So, I think that there’s always potential for more to be explored in that world.” There are several routes a Sex Education spinoff could go, but the best one would see fan favorite Eric Effiong (Ncuti Gatwa) leave Moordale and the town he’s from behind.
There Are Many Intriguing Spinoff Ideas for ‘Sex Education’
To have a successful spinoff of Sex Education, it must not focus on its main stars of Otis or Jean. Anything that focuses on them at Moordale or elsewhere would just be Sex Education 2.0. It’s someone from the supporting cast that needs to be focused on. There are so many to choose from. The best spinoffs in TV history didn’t always go for the simplest idea. Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) wasn’t the most popular guy at the bar on Cheers, but a show all about him, Frasier, became as big as where he came from. Perfect Strangers was a hit in the ’80s, but to make a spinoff based on the elevator attendant where they worked named Harriette Winslow (JoMarie Payton) seemed a little risky. That spinoff became a TGIF phenom called Family Matters. If Sex Education was to go that more unconventional route, the most obvious characters to follow are Lily (Tanya Reynolds) and Ola (Patricia Allison). Watching them grow and fall in love was one of the best parts of Sex Education. Shockingly, they are not being brought back for the final season. So where did they go? A spinoff would be a great way to show us.
The more realistic spinoff would see Sex Education following one of its bigger supporting characters who are still part of the current cast. That gives us many options. Maeve (Emma Mackey) is near the top of the list. She has grown like few others in the series. In the beginning she was the troubled girl with the dark makeup and the angry face. Rumors flew about her, but there was a darker truth with Maeve having a drug addled mother who wasn’t around, leaving Maeve to raise herself. She had her looks though, which helped her land the popular boyfriend. But it was the dorky Otis, awkward as hell but filled with emotion and brutal realness, that drew her attention. Their will-they-won’t-they relationship took a turn toward they will in Season 3, but alas, Maeve has a big problem. She is a smart one, and after trying to hold it back for so long, she’s finally letting herself live up to her potential. She’s been invited to a program in America, which would take her away from Otis. A spinoff could see us following Maeve to her new life in America, but with Mackey’s career taking off, her character might not be the easiest choice.
There is another character who would be even more difficult to follow, but those problems be damned, no one is in more of a need of a spinoff than Eric Effiong. The difficulties come from the fact the actor portraying him, Ncuti Gatwa, has been cast as the next Doctor in Doctor Who, for which he is signed on for at least two seasons. Still, if there’s a way to do it, Eric is the only choice for a spinoff. Maeve is living up to her full potential and taking a big risk. Eric has grown too, taking more risks and getting close to his potential, but unlike Maeve, he’s still stuck in Moordale. The only way for him to be his true self is to leave his home behind. What better spinoff could there be than following such a complex character trying to find their way in the outer world?
Moordale is Holding Eric Back in ‘Sex Education’
Ask any fan of Sex Education who their favorite character is and more often than not you’re going to get Eric as the answer. He is the most three-dimensional part of the cast, a young man who loves himself and is confident in who he is, but who also lives in pain from how others treat him for being gay. He’s bullied for that, particularly by the especially savage headmaster’s son, Adam (Connor Swindells). Still, as kind and sensitive as Eric is, he ends up falling for his bully, as it’s revealed that much of Adam’s anger comes from his own homosexuality. It’s sweet, seeing Eric make a boy smile who never has. They’re good together in moments, but Adam is still angry, he still hides, not wanting to reveal who he really is, not wanting anyone to know about their relationship. Eric tries to tolerate this, but that’s not him. No matter how much he might truly love Adam, Eric has never been about being fake. He’s as real as it gets. He can’t help but be anyone but himself. He’s too extroverted, too gregarious, too filled with hope and a need for fun and adventure, to ever become a wallflower afraid to move. Adam is holding Eric back from a love he is worthy of.
Adam is the biggest offender of this, but it’s all of Moordale that doesn’t seem to be the best spot for Eric. Otis is his best friend and always will be, but that doesn’t mean he should follow him around for the rest of his life. You could see Otis spending the rest of his life where he grew up. Eric needs to break away from him and his issues and live his own life. That doesn’t mean that Otis becomes forgotten, only that Eric needs to do more than bloom where he’s planted.
For Eric to Truly Grow and Thrive, He Needs To Move Away
Eric is one of those teenagers who, when you see them struggling, you can tell that once they’re out of high school (or secondary school as in the case of Sex Education), they’re going to go off to college or move somewhere and find people like them. It’s then that they’ll really take off and become the person they’re meant to be. That’s what’s in store for Eric. He’s meant for more than self-doubts, boyfriends who can’t commit, and the dramas of teenage school life. An outwardly lived life filled with passion and no doubts or lies is what he’s supposed to be doing. While everyone else is still trying to figure themselves out, Eric already has. He just needs a place to live out who he is.
We got a glimpse at Eric’s future in Season 3 of Sex Education. One plot has him going with his family to Nigeria for a wedding. With how conservative the country and his family there can be, he’s told to hide who he is. It’s like being with Adam, but worse. Adam may have wanted to hide, but Eric could still be himself around him. Eric is saved when he meets an openly gay man named Oba (Jerry Iwu). It’s an anxiety inducing episode. We wait for something bad to happen to Eric again. Oba is going to beat him up, rob him, something horrible, but instead he takes Eric to a gay nightclub. It’s there that Eric has the time of his life. It’s a night of discovery, a bird with the cage door ripped open. He’s finally free to be himself fully. The smile on his face is a kid who has reached nirvana. He’s so happy that he and Oba kiss. When Eric gets home he tells Adam what happened, but he’s not exactly ashamed of himself. Instead, he ends it with Adam, telling him that he needs to “fly.”
The nightclub moment on Sex Education showed us Eric being set free. There was nothing in his way any longer. He could now live to his full potential. Who wouldn’t want to watch a show like that, even if we have to wait a couple of years to see it?
Denial of responsibility! TechCodex is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
Khushi Patel is a science fiction author who lives in Austin, Texas. She has published three novels, and her work has been praised for its originality and imagination. Khushi is a graduate of Rice University, and she has worked as a software engineer. She is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and her books have been nominated for several awards.
