Sex Education Season 3 was already released on Netflix. The British comedy-drama series premiered in 2019, and stars Asa Butterfield as Otis Milburn, an insecure teenager who struggles with his mother's occupation, and takes a similar role in his school.
There's a lot of exciting things to expect from Sex Education Season 3, so we've rounded-up all the plot details, casting information, behind-the-scenes and official photos, as well as the Netflix release date and trailer for the upcoming season. Here's everything so far we know about Sex Education Season 3.
Sex Education Season 3 Release Date: When will it premiere on Netflix?
Sex Education Season 3 was released on September 17, 2021. All 8 new episodes will be available to stream on Netflix that day. You can check out the full schedule of Netflix's September 2021 releases here.
Although Netflix already confirmed the new season back in February 2020, just a month after the release of Season 2, the production had to be held off due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, filming was able to resume from September 2020.
In August 2021, The Guardian reported that filming during the summer required safety measures to complete, including "regular testing, cast bubbles, as few people on set as possible, [and] the writers' room happened virtually." This isn't unusual for the production during the pandemic, but challenges arose when keeping cast members safe while filming intimate scenes. "It is about intimacy and sex and relationships, and we couldn't make the show without that being part of it," The Guardian said. "I didn't even manage to get to [the] set this year. It felt a bit jarring," she added. Not having the creator on set is fairly unusual, but needed to be done for safety.
Along with the confirmation of release date, Netflix also shared official images from Sex Education Season 3, which reveal a new school uniform for the students of Moordale High, with Otis, Eric (Ncuti Gatwa), Maeve (Emma Mackey), and others with blazers and ties, and plaid skirts for the girls. Netflix also shared the first look at the new headteacher, played by Jemima Kirke, an English-American actress best known for her role as Jessa Johansson in HBO's Girls.
Sex Education Season 3 Trailer: Did Netflix release a teaser or trailer yet?
In September 2021, Netflix released the full trailer for Sex Education Season 3, teasing the new changes coming to Moordale High.
You can watch it here:
Earlier this year, Netflix relased the first trailer for Sex Education Season 3, and although it doesn't reveal any new footage from the upcoming season, it gives us a hilarious look at a Moordale Secondary commercial as well as the new headmistress Hope played by Jemima Kirke.
Sex Education Season 3 Cast: Who will be returning and who are the newcomers?
A lot of familiar faces will be returning in Sex Education Season 3 to continue where we left off at the end of the second season. Of course, Butterfield will return as Otis, and Gillian Anderson as his sex therapist mother Jean. Other Moordale students making a return are Otis's best friend Eric played by Ncuti Gatwa, Emma Mackey as Maeve, Connor Swindells as Adam, Aimee Lou Wood as Aimee, Kedar Williams-Stirling as Jackson, Tany Reynolds as Lily, and Patricia Allison as Ola. Adam's father and the former headmaster, Mr. Groff, played by Alistair Petrie, will also be back in Season 3.
A few new faces have been confirmed to join the cast: Girls actress Jemima Kirke, who will play headmistress Hope, and Jason Isaacs, who's best known for his roles in Harry Potter and Star Trek: Discovery, will play Peter Groff, Mr. Groff's "more successful/less modest" older brother. Musician Dua Saleh is playing a non-bindary student named Cal.
Speaking to Glamour, Kirke talked about her Season 3 role as Hope, saying:
"Every character I play teaches me something about humanity. Hope in particular is someone who has a really thick wall up against who she really is - which as I'm saying this, I'm realizing - it's got its parallels with Jessa from Girls. She's got this tough exterior, this very controlling, orderly and aggressive exterior. What Sex Education does so well with its characters is it peels back the layers of a person, you see that we've got their persona, and then we've got what's just beneath the persona. As you'll see later, she isn't exactly what she seems. Everyone's got a story to tell, and everyone's got a reason that they are the way they are."
Kirke also said that there's not a dull moment and boring storyline in Sex Education Season 3. That should give us a lot to hope for the new episodes!
Sex Education Season 3 Plot Details: Will Maeve ever hear that voicemail from Otis?
Series creator Laurie Nunn told the Evening Standard that the big theme of Season 3 is "shame". She also talked about a potential fourth season: "I'd love ot keep writing the characters," she continued: "If Netflix wants to let me keep writing, I would love to."
The trailer and photos made it clear that Jemima Kirke's role as the new headmistress Hope will change things a lot in Moordale High. The new headmistress expresses her intent for Moordale "to once again become a pillar of excellence". She has implemented a new dress code, which none of the students seem happy about.
Here's what casting director Lauren Evans told Metro about the newcomers joining the cast of Season 3: "Jemima Kirke is just incredible. I can't say much about her character but she is insanely talented and I'm a massive, massive fan of Girls, so to have her in the series is a total dream." She continued: "Jason Isaacs is just a dude and comes in as Alistair Petrie's sort of more successful, older brother, which is really cool. And Dua Saleh has a really important storyline that I think will resonate with a lot of viewers and it's really cool to have them in their first screen role."
Of course, Season 3 will most likely tie the loose ends that Season 2 left off. At the end of Season 2, Otis leaves Maeve a voicemail apologizing for his behavior and tells her that he loves her, but Maeve's friend Isaac (George Robinson) deletes the message and sends Otis away when he tries to visit her. Will Maeve ever find out how Otis truly feels?
During an interview with The Guardian, Asa Butterfield shared our first hints about the story of Sex Education Season 3.
"There's a bit of a time-jump since the season two cliffhanger," Butterfield explained. "Otis is back at school but he's got different things on his plate. He's grown up a bit and become slightly more sassy. It's been fun to portray his newfound charisma. Don't worry, though, he's still tragically awkward too."
Butterfield also talked about how his character's relationship will develop with Maeve (Emma Mackey). "Their relationship continues to develop in season three," he said. "We also explore why Otis was running his sex therapy clinic in the first place. Was it just to be close to Maeve or does he get fulfillment from helping people?"
Over on Twitter, Butterfield shared a cryptic tease, saying, "Lemme just say, you lot aren't ready for season 3, trust me."
At the Season 2 finale, Jean finds out that she's pregnant, and Jean and Otis are not in good terms after she found out about the sex advice clinic Otis was running at Moordale High, so Season 3 will most likely show Jean's new life as a mother of a new baby.
A photo from Sex Education Season 3 recently leaked on Twitter, revealing that Otis and Ruby together. It looks like they will be dating in this season.
Update: Sex Education Season 3 trailer also revealed a bunch of new footages teasing the changes coming in Moordale High. It looks like growth will be a major theme in the upcoming season.
Sex Education Season 3 is the first season of the show to deal with trans and nonbinary prejudice.
Sex Education Season 3 Previews: Are there more images and teasers?
Netflix has released several new images to get fans hyped for Sex Education Season 3, including profile icons featuring the show's characters.
Netflix released more photos for Sex Education Season 3:
More character posters have been revealed for Sex Education Season 3, featuring familiar characters and confirming the return of the show's most-hated character, Isaac.
Recently, Netflix announced the full line-up for its Tudum global event, which is set to take place on Sept. 25, and one of the 70 titles is Sex Education. Of course, Season 3 will already be available on Netflix by the time this event happens, so could they possibly tease Season 4 and beyond? It's likely that the show will be renewed by Netflix for a fourth season, but Neflix hasn't officially greenlighted it yet.
We will update this article with more details as new details emerge for Sex Education Season 3. Be sure to check out the Netflix Rocks My World page on Facebook for the lastest news, updates, and memes about the best Netflix movies and TV shows.