Sex Education Final Season Teases More Awkward Blunders, Hook-Ups, & Breakthroughs

Fans are finally getting their first real glimpse at the fourth and final season of Netflix's "Sex Education."

A brief teaser dropped on July 5, giving audiences the smallest of sneak peeks before the show returns for its last outing this fall. The teaser sees Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield) finally coming into his own as he reveals to a group full of new students that he spends pretty much all of his time thinking about sex... and that he learned about all of it from his mother Jean Milburn (Gillian Anderson). Naturally, he's wildly misunderstood by everybody, who think that he's admitting some pretty awful stuff — and it gets weird enough that Otis' best friend Eric Effiong (Ncuti Gatwa) has to stand up and demand that Otis just tell everybody he's a sex therapist.

There's not a whole lot revealed in this teaser, but fans can expect more of what they love from "Sex Education" — a playful, bawdy romp where the characters explore the boundaries of their sexualities and a sensitive, caring show that takes great pains to care for those same characters. So what happened at the end of Season 3 of "Sex Education," and what's set to change as Season 4 approaches?

So what do you need to remember from "Sex Education" Season 3, which aired all the way back in 2021? Otis — who's been dispensing sex advice and providing impromptu therapy for petty cash thanks to his mother's wealth of knowledge in the area — is now a popular kid by default thanks to his relationship with Ruby (Mimi Keene), one of the school's most admired and beautiful girls. Maeve (Emma Mackey), Otis' partner in crime at their sex therapy clinic, is considering a move abroad to study in the United States thanks to an encouraging teacher, and Eric struggles with his relationship as his boyfriend Adam (Connor Swindells) is afraid to reveal his sexuality to his mother. Amidst all of this, the central school, Moordale Secondary School, installs Hope Haddon (Jemima Kirke) as its new headmaster to make its reputation less tawdry after the previous headmaster said students were out of control thanks to Jean and Otis.

This all ends in strife — despite the students successfully running Hope out of Moordale — when Otis and his friends learn that the school is being sold off to developers and they'll all have to figure out where to study the following year. Beyond that, Otis and Ruby break up, at which point he pursues Maeve before shedecides to study in the States, and Adam and Eric split as well. Season 4 will see the Moordale students a bit scattered... and beyond that, several cast members aren't returning.

Unfortunately, several beloved characters from "Sex Education" won't return to the show for its last season, from teachers to students — and largely because they've been presented with some pretty huge opportunities. This is definitely the case for Simone Ashley, who's played Olivia Hanan, a member of the popular clique "the Untouchables" since the show's inception... and is now starring as the romantic lead on "Bridgerton," joining the cast as Kate, love of Jonathan Bailey's Anthony Bridgerton in Season 2.

One of the show's central couples won't be returning, as neither actress is; Tanya Reynolds and Patricia Allison, who played Lily Iglehart and Ola Nyman, respectively, are also both leaving the show. Reynolds has worked on British shows like "Dodger" and "The Baby," and Allison can be seen on projects like "Extraordinary." Rakhee Thakrar won't be returning as teacher Emily Sands, but she'll appear alongside Timothée Chalamet in the upcoming "Wonka" origin story. As for the returning cast members, they've got some pretty huge projects lined up as "Sex Education" comes to an end — Emma Mackey is set to show up in Margot Robbie's "Barbie" movie, and Ncuti Gatwa is becoming British television royalty by stepping into the Doctor's well-worn shoes on "Doctor Who."

The final season of "Sex Education" drops on Netflix on September 21.