By Hannah Preston
Newsweek IC
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Netflix's hilariously awkward show Sex Education is a centered around multiple coming-of-age stories, and it's something many viewers find relatable.
The show's writer Laurie Nunn, who also penned the 2016 short-film Pregnant Pause, was inspired to create Sex Education after she asked herself what she wished she knew more about as a teenager. So not only does Sex Education address the awkwardness of some first sexual experience, but it also delves into female sensuality, a subject not-so thoroughly discussed, as well as society's overall relationship with sex as a whole.
One of the characters whose lives we get to follow is that of Maeve Wiley. The "unapologetic" 16-year-old is played by 22-year-old British-French actress Emma Mackey.
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Newsweek talked to Mackey and Nunn about her breakout role.
This interview was edited for brevity:
Let's start off with an icebreaker. How do your parents compare to Otis' overly-involved mother, Jean?
Laurie Nunn: For me, my mom is the complete opposite. She did not have the birds-and-the-bees conversation with me *laughs*. I mean my mother was very open and liberal, but we never had that conversation. I think she felt
Emma Mackey: Yeah, same for me. We never had a big chat about it, but whenever I had questions about it [my mom] was always very open. Like Laurie, my mom was very chilled, so I was very lucky.
Aside from the title, of course, what do you think the main element people receive from this show is?
LN: I would hope that there would be more honest and open conversations because that's what leads to healthier relationships in the long-run.
EM: Absolutely. I think what has been really cool from my point of view is having family and friends of all ages telling me how relative the show is and people from slightly older generations being like, "God, I wish there were shows like this when I was younger."
Not just in terms of sex, like Laurie says, in the long-run relationships in this show are really important. It has so many important themes that we can draw upon in adult life.
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Yes, that's what I noticed the most in this show— you are invested in every single character. Laurie, this may be a question specific to you, but how did you go about developing characters that so many people have found themselves within?
LN: Oh, it quite a hard thing to break down because the writing process is quite long and organic–but it was very important for me to have a wide representation in the show. When I was creating the characters I thought about all the different types of teenagers that I went to school with and thinking about ways to portray them on screen. Then I kept going back to the central question of what I would've wanted more information on as a teenager when it came to sexual relations.
A follow-up question on that, Laurie— is there one character that you find yourself relating most to?
LN: Well, I do see myself in all of them, but I definitely was an Otis in high school. I was very much a late-bloomer and I had a very intense relationship with my mom. She was a single mom, and there's a lot happening in Otis and he's the character I relate to most in the show—which may be surprising *laughs*. I relate to a lot of the female characters; however, Otis is close to my heart.
What about you Emma? Do you see yourself as similar to Maeve?
EM: I was a bit smilier *laughs* and I wanted to be friends with everyone at school, but there's a lot of me in Maeve in terms of being studious. I was apart of any real clique at school but had a select few friends that I would open up to.
[Maeve] is a lot fiercer than I was—not that I like to use that word too much. She's very unapologetic and holds her head high, which I didn't necessarily do.
If you could inherit one characteristic of Maeve's, what would it be?
EM: The "one" would be that she's unapologetic, I think that's what I've learned from her in my own life. I'm trying to hold my head high and not apologize and be nice all the time because that's not always necessary. I realized it's a wonderful quality to be able to spend your energy on people who are actually worth it.
LN: At such a young age, women are taught to be so nice all the time. I think Maeve was taught that she doesn't have to be nice, but she's a good person. You can be a good person, but not nice all the time; I think a lot of women can take from that.
The role women play in this show is extraordinary, the show really faces female sexuality head-on. From masturbation to body hair, was there ever any nervousness to how it would be received and were you surprised by the outcome?
LN: I think when I was writing it, I was again going back to the question of what I wanted to know more about as a teenager. Since it came from that place, and since I am a female writer, it did focus on female issues–body shame and female desire.
It's been so great to see the positive reaction to it but also a little bit dividing. I think it's so upsetting that these things are so taboo, these things should be normalized.
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Why do you think female sexuality is so taboo?
EM: I don't necessarily know why it is so taboo, but a part of me thinks that it's a part of our DNA; it feels good, but we feel bad about it. When it comes to female pleasure, there's shame and guilt—it's so bizarre, I'm not sure if it happens with boys, I don't want to speak for anyone else, but it seems like that. I'm so glad that it's being spoken about; we haven't really gone into it in the past and shown the positive impact that it can have, and I think that's what's so brilliant about it.
LN: Sex in the City was always a really big show for me. Why was I able to relate at 15 to women who were in their thirties so much? I think it's because there weren't many shows that dealt with sexuality from the female perspective, but especially from someone that was younger; I think that's why people are responding to it so much.
What have you noticed in fans in terms of age demographic?
LN: I think it's quite mixed, from what I can see. The teenage experience is universal, either you're a teenager now or you once were one, and I think that's why people are able to connect to the story.
I'd like to touch on a specific scene in the show— Maeve's abortion. How was that like on set and what was the over the message you were hoping to portray?
EM: While on set, I felt really good about it. In the way it was written, it's not a huge dilemma, it's not a traumatic event that's going to be emblazoned on her heart and mind for the rest of her life. Maeve finds out she's pregnant, feels pragmatic about it and has no other option.
When it came to filming the scene, I was very aware of not sensationalizing or dramatizing anything. Through that scene, Maeve just becomes a girl who wants her mom and that's the real emotion that you see.
LN: I didn't want the abortion to play out or suddenly affect Maeve in the series. It's not the nicest thing that she will go through, but it doesn't define her. I just really loved how the audience was able to know Maeve more, it wasn't just about the abortion.
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Now, what everyone is wondering–will there be a season 2?
LN: Nothing has been confirmed yet, we won't find out to later on.
OK, so if there were to be a season 2, is there anything that will definitely be introduced or further discussed in the show?
LN: In terms of the characters, there are so many of them. I definitely have strong ideas of where I want to take some of the characters and there are other characters that will go rogue *laughs*. So, anything can happen!
EM: I mean, it's in the hands of the writers, but I'm so invested in these characters. More complex female characters, Laurie, keep throwing them our way!
Sex Education is currently available for streaming on Netflix.
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