When does Sex Education take place?

❘ Published: 2023-09-28T15:18:40

Netflix

Despite the horny teens, the way Sex Education looks is a distinctive part of the show. But when does it all take place?

Set in the UK but actually mostly filmed in Wales, the show can sometimes cause confusion thanks to its often American-looking aesthetic. Despite this, it’s a part of each season that fans love, with the idyllic red house now even up for sale.

Filmed in a variety of beautiful countryside locations, Sex Education follows a group of teens as they get to know themselves and their sexuality inside and outside the confines of their secondary school.

With a look that can appear to be more in line with a 1980s design, here’s exactly when each season of Sex Education takes place.

Sex Education Season 1

Unlike what some viewers might think, Season 1 is set in the present day.

Despite the use of iPhones, laptops, and incredibly modern sex toys, the styling of the show could suggest that it’s set in the 1980s or 1990s. For Season 1, the present day would be 2019, as that was the year that the first installment of the series was released.

This is when fans see Otis’ (Asa Butterfield) school toilet sex clinic first take off, alongside his growing attraction to Maeve (Emma Mackey).

Sex Education Season 2

Following that line of thinking, Season 2 takes place in the following year of 2020.

Tanya Reynolds will not return to Sex Education for Season 4.

Despite COVID-19 lockdown precautions in full swing, the Moordale gang are back up to their old tricks. This time around, the season is full of sex that isn’t quite working out, with the season ending with the bombshell of Jean (Gillian Anderson) finding out that she’s pregnant.

Sex Education Season 3

Season 3 takes place in 2021, again in line with its release date.

Moordale High is officially welcoming the start of a new term, with a new headteacher in the form of Hope Haddon (Jemima Kirke). However, Otis and Maeve’s fledgling relationship is threatened by the end of the series, with Maeve revealing that she’s leaving to study in the U.S.

Sex Education Season 4

Though Season 4 takes place immediately after Season 3, there was a two-year gap, unlike the usual one-year wait time.

Most likely caused by the pandemic, the production of the show’s final series was slowed down, although also set in the present day. The ending of the season is a little more ambiguous, with it not being revealed where the characters’ storylines will end up in the years to come.

Sex Education Season 4 is streaming on Netflix now. Check out our other coverage below: