SEX EDUCATION PRODUCTION
W hen Sex Education of Netflix’s biggest British titles. The show attracted international audiences of all ages, thanks in part to its timeless visual style and unidentifiable locale. Created by Laurie Nunn, Sex Education is a cross-generational lesson in sexuality, intimacy and identity. Its expertly selected cast amalgamates person-next-door innocence with proper star power. Mum- and-son duo Jean (Gillian Anderson) and Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield) both act as sex therapists – and though only Jean is professionally qualified, both address their peers’ problems with empathy and delicacy, leaving viewers with a warm, fuzzy feeling. premiered in 2019, it became an instant classic – and one BRAT PACK The Milburns live, work and study in Moordale, a fictional town shot primarily in the UK’s Wye Valley. Although the characters are distinctively British (they have got accents at least), their world is far less concretely defined. Moordale Secondary School, housed in a beautifully grandiose University of South Wales building, is arguably American, with letterman jackets and an emblematic ‘M’ logo. Samantha Harley, production designer on Series 1-3, says the show’s look “started with the school. Those rows of lockers are so iconically American.” Sex Education ’s critics may call its cultural ambiguity a sales tactic – meant to generate wider commercial appeal – but that wasn’t the intent. “When the
TIMELESS CLASSIC The show’s visual style harks back to eighties coming-of-age films, making for a nostalgic viewing experience
production designer and I had the first meeting with Ben Taylor – the director of the first three series – he said he wanted to create a show that was nostalgic, but with a nod to John Hughes,” explains Rosa Dias, costume designer on Series 1-3. “I think that automatically brought in the American slant. It wasn’t deliberate to combine the US and England – it wasn’t the primary aim at all.” Harley echoes this: “We didn’t specifically say: ‘it needs to be American’. We were influenced by Americana, but it was to be a hybrid.” Sex Education largely revolves around Otis and his peers’ high school experiences. We watch as they navigate the physical, emotional and social turbulence that comes post-puberty. “ Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and The Breakfast Club – those were massive influences,” says Christina Tom, art director on Series 2-4. In addition to the show’s themes, the sets, the costumes, even the colour palettes pay homage to genre-defining director Hughes. “The eighties coming-of-age films were feel-good,” describes Harley. “A lot of Sex Education plays with some really important, challenging topics. I think that, ultimately, the characters have all got redeeming qualities. Very quickly, you realise they’re much more layered, much more complex – there’s so much more going on.”
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off AND The Breakfast Club – THOSE WERE MASSIVE INFLUENCES”
47
definitionmags
Powered by FlippingBook