School is back in session earlier than expected.
Sex Education star Asa Butterfield has made everybody’s day by revealing that production has already begun on the hit Netflix show’s fourth season. Another run was immediately announced following the teen comedy-drama’s barnstorming season three last September, but the cast and crew have remained cagey on the topic of when we could expect more episodes ever since.
But now we can maybe expect the news to start pouring in as Butterfield took to Twitter this Friday to share a selfie from the set, in which he’s sipping a cup of coffee while standing outside his trailer. While he didn’t necessarily spell out that he’s back to work on the show, the Hugo actor’s teasing caption of “Guess who’s back[?]” can only mean one thing: Otis Milburn is returning to offer the kids of Moordale more help in the bedroom.
While Butterfield is back in business, fans should prepare themselves for some major absences in season four. To date, four cast-members have confirmed they are not involved in the new run — namely, Tanya Reynolds (Lily), Patricia Allison (Ola), Simone Ashley (Olivia), and Rakhee Thakrar (Miss Sands). This seems to be part of a soft reboot for the show, as the plot details we have so far tell us that this season will use the closure of Moordale Academy — see the season three finale — as a way of adding some fresh blood into the mix.
The good news is that Ncuti Gatwa is definitely on board as Otis’ best pal Eric Effiong, despite his recent announcement as the next Doctor Who. The report that revealed this actually indicated that season four would be kicking off filming in the fall, so Butterfield’s selfie comes as a pleasant surprise. It’s possible that Gatwa won’t start work until then as he juggles his commitments to the sci-fi series.
It’s looking like Sex Education should be back for more episodes sometime in 2023.