[This story includes major spoilers from the Sex Education series finale.]
The final moments of Sex Education saw the show’s core characters rally behind one of their own and begin their paths into the next chapter of their lives.
In the series finale of the Netflix series, the students at Cavendish Sixth Form College discover their classmate Cal (Dua Saleh) has gone missing, and they join forces to find their friend and bring them home safely. When Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) and Jackson (Kedar Williams-Stirling) find Cal, they realize they’ve been neglecting their friend who has been struggling with body dysmorphia amid their transition because they can’t afford top surgery.
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Instead of raising money for the soup kitchen run by Eric’s church, which does not want money from LGBTQ students, the school decides to donate the money from the fundraiser to Cal so they can complete their transition.
Elsewhere in the final episode, Otis (Asa Butterfield) concedes his therapist spot at the school to O (Thaddea Graham). He and Maeve (Emma Mackey) end things in order to pursue separate paths, as she returns to America to complete her writing program led by Dan Levy’s Thomas Molloy. Adam (Connor Swindells) and his father (Michael Groff) make up after years of a strained relationship.
Otis and Maeve’s fate, and Adam mending his relationship with his father, were two crucial points for showrunner Laurie Nunn when she was writing Sex Education season four.
“I think Adam represents a lot of very broken young men that I’ve known in my life, and I just always wanted that healing and that reconciliation for him,” Nunn tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I’ve always been pretty sure that Otis and Maeve wouldn’t end up together. They’re 17, and I think it’s really hard if you meet your soulmate when you’re 17.”
In the conversation below, Nunn also gets candid about the spinoffs she might be interested in exploring after taking a break from the world of Moordale for a bit, how the show is ultimately about friendship, her thoughts on the end of the writers strike and more.
How does it feel to say goodbye to Sex Education?
I think I’m still processing it a little bit. I didn’t go into the writers room for series four thinking that it was going to be the end. But the writing process is very fluid; we’re sort of writing and rewriting all the time. It started to become really clear that the characters were coming to this natural conclusion, and I felt really happy about where they were going to be left. And it suddenly felt like the right time to end the show. There’s pros and cons to that. I haven’t had the last two years to process the fact that it’s coming to an end. I’m just sort of coming to terms with it now.
When you started the show, did you ever imagine it becoming as popular and as big of a pop culture phenomenon as it has?
I started writing it in 2014, and then it ended up with Netflix in 2017. So, it’s been a very long time. I really didn’t imagine that it would connect with people in the way in the way that it has. I thought the whole hook of the show was going to be too heightened, and that maybe people would find it a bit strange and not be able to get on board with it. But it’s been really overwhelming to see that people have enjoyed it.
Why do you think it’s connected with people the way it has?
I think probably because it’s about being a teenager, and I think that either we are teenagers or we remember what it was like to be teenagers. I think it’s a very universal experience. There’s something about how unsure you feel about everything when you’re 16 that is really at the heart of the show, and I think that’s the thing that’s connected with people.
What do you think the show’s legacy is?
I find it quite hard to think about legacy. I think conversations are just moving so fast at the moment, and I think there’s so much amazing television out there. I just hope that people connected with the characters in some way, and I hope that they’re able to remember the characters. I guess the show is called Sex Education, and it’s really about how to conduct sex and relationships in a healthier way, and hopefully, it started some conversations around that subject matter.
What would you say the show is really about?
The show is actually really about friendship. Even though it’s called Sex Education — and it has these sex stories of the week, and it has big love stories and romantic stories — I think, really underneath it, it’s about friendship and community and being able to kind of find your people.
Everyone’s stories were tied up really neatly. Did you always know how you wanted to wrap up their stories?
I always knew that I wanted to reconcile Adam and his dad. That always felt like something that was quite important. I think Adam represents a lot of very broken young men that I’ve known in my life, and I just always wanted that healing and that reconciliation for him. And yeah, I’ve always been pretty sure that Otis and Maeve wouldn’t end up together. They’re 17, and I think it’s really hard if you meet your soulmate when you’re 17. And I’ve always sort of imagined that they might get together 10 years down the path when they’ve matured and grown up a little bit.
I’m glad you think they could get together down the line. I would love to see that.
Yeah, that’s the spinoff. They’re just married and boring. (Laughs)
This show served as a massive launching pad for its stars — three were in Barbie; Ncuti Gatwa is the new Doctor Who. What do you think about that, and how much did that play a role in the decision to end the series?
I think they’re all just doing so well. It’s wonderful to see that. Our casting director Lauren Evans is brilliant at finding these really talented new actors, and I think that’s the real joy of a teen show; that you get to work with these real up-and-coming actors and mold characters around them. I think the fact that Ncuti is going to be Doctor Who is just so cool.
I think the show definitely could have continued. I think that all of the actors are obviously much older now. We’re all much older than when we started, so I think with a teen show, there’s always a sort of endpoint because people can’t play teenagers forever. But, yeah, it definitely felt like the right time to bring it to a close.
The show said goodbye to fan-favorite characters like Lily and Ola before the fourth season started. Were there any fears about a new season without some of the beloved characters?
When I started writing series four, I didn’t think it was going to be the final series. I hadn’t made that decision yet. So, I think in my mind, I was just trying to come up with a new story mostly for the series. In series three, we’d had Hope [Jemima Kirke], and we’d had that new leadership at Moordale and, obviously, that had all ended really disastrously. And it felt like, in order to continue the story, we needed to inject new energy into the show. With Lily and Ola, I really felt like their story had come to a really nice end at the end of series three, and I felt like they were left in a really positive place. That felt like the right time to end that story. Going into series four, I was really interested in taking our original characters from Moordale and putting them into this new environment, and watching them struggle a little bit. That always creates good drama and comedy.
Did you think about bringing some of those characters back at any point?
We felt like the characters who were left in series three felt like a really natural end into those character journeys. I think with Jean and Jakob, obviously, Jakob found out he wasn’t the father, and I think in terms of where he was at with all of his trust issues, it just didn’t feel like that relationship was going to continue. I really liked being able to explore Jean out of her romantic relationship, and I think putting her on her own with this new baby — and she’s trying to juggle motherhood and her career, and we’re really watching her kind of fall apart at the seams — was a really great way to dig a little bit deeper into her as a character and understand why she is the way she is.
You mentioned not knowing season four would be the last. How long did you envision the show going for when you started it?
I think when I first started working on it, just to get one series felt so, so amazing. When I’m writing the show, I always try to put everything, all of my ideas, into each series. Because it’s never a guarantee in television that you’re going to get to continue something. With every series I’ve thought, “I’m just gonna put everything into it because this could be the last one.” But I also feel really lucky that I’ve been able to end it on my own terms, because not every writer gets to do that. It felt really cathartic being able to leave those characters in a place that I felt happy with.
You joked about an Otis and Maeve spinoff, and you’ve talked about Moordale being rip with possible stories to tell. What are some you’d be interested in exploring?
There are so many different avenues to explore Moordale more. I’ve really loved some of the new characters that have come into series four. I think it would be really cool to maybe see some more of them. But, to be honest, I’m not really thinking about any spinoffs right now. I’m just sort of taking a break and getting to know what my brain feels without writing Sex Education for a bit.
How does it feel to be discussing the show now that the writers strike is over?
I think it’s really positive that they were able to get to a deal. But, obviously, the actors strike is still going, and I think it’s important to remember that both things are really interconnected. I think the industry is in a bit of a complicated place at the moment, but I do think it’s really important that writers are paid properly for their work because, otherwise, it becomes a real barrier to entry. And I think we need as many young and diverse writers coming into the industry and wanting to tell their stories, because that’s how we’re going to make interesting television and film.
Interview edited for length and clarity.
