A third series of Sex Education has been commissioned by Netflix.
*Season two spoilers ahead*
The hit comedy series follows the sexual exploits and mishaps of teens at the fictional Moordale High, where Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield) and Maeve Wiley (Emma Mackey) run an illicit clinic offering sex advice to their classmates.
The second series saw Otis’ sex therapist mother, Jean (Gillian Anderson), find out about her son’s extracurricular activities, much to her disappointment. Meanwhile, Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) was caught in a love triangle with new love interest Rahim (Sami Outalbali) and closeted bully Adam Groff (Connor Swindells), who slowly comes to terms with his sexuality. Elsewhere, Maeve struggled with her feelings for Otis, and Lily (Tanya Reynolds) and Ola (Patricia Allison) explored a relationship beyond friendship.
The announcement for the third series comes in the form of an amusing art history video presented by Alistair Petrie, who plays the loathsome headmaster of Moordale, Principal Groff.
In the video, Petrie examines the gallery of portraits depicting the series’ most prominent characters.
As he peruses the gallery, notes the ‘arousing wheel of brie’ in the portrait of Otis, and the violets in Lily’s hair symbolising ‘lesbian and bisexual love’.
In the portrait of Jackson (Kedar Williams-Stirling), Petrie highlights the thespian’s skull, ‘a nod to Shakespeare’, calling back to Jackson’s role as Romeo in Moordale’s erotically charged interpretation of Romeo & Juliet.
As he arrives at the portrait of Jean (Gillian Anderson) he notes the pomegranate still life - ‘a symbol of fertility’ - referencing one of the most shocking revelations of the series two finale, that of Jean’s pregnancy.
The video concludes with Petrie examining the ‘pièce de résistance’; a painting of Eric and Adam, a pair who were finally reunited at the series’ conclusion with Adam interrupting the school performance to confess his love.
Petrie teases, “I wonder what is in store for these two cherubs? Well, I suppose you’ll have to find out in season three”.
Watch the announcement video below.
