Ncuti Gatwa says making Sex Education 'wasn't always joyous': 'I feel like we've outgrown it'

All good things must come to an end, and that includes Sex Education. The Netflix comedy series, which centers on a high school sex therapist (Asa Butterfield) who helps his fellow students understand their bodies and feelings, is set to end with its upcoming season 4. And according to star Ncuti Gatwa, the time was definitely right to wrap things up.

The actor, who plays Eric Effiong, the best friend of Butterfield's Otis Milburn, told Rolling Stone U.K. in a recent interview, "It was very hard; it was such a big show."

Gatwa, 30, added, "When you're telling stories that haven't been seen before, there's always a battle as to how to tell them. It wasn't always joyous. I feel like we've outgrown it and we've given everything we can to it."

Sex Education has been unapologetically diverse in its depiction of young people coming to terms with their identities and sexual desires. At the end of season 3, the students' refusal to submit to the school board's more conservative policies led to the closure of their school. Season 4 will therefore find them in different environments, as Emma Mackey's Maeve attends a prestigious program in the United States while Eric and Otis make sense of their new school.

Gatwa is certainly on his way to bigger and better things. He has a role in this summer's hotly anticipated Barbie movie (alongside Mackey), but more importantly, he's set to play the next incarnation of the Doctor on Doctor Who.

Sex Education season 4 hits Netflix on Sept. 21.

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