9 /10. A hilarious and quirky show, also able to show realness and heartache

A quirky and funny Netflix comedy focusing on shy Otis who reluctantly starts up a lucrative s*x education/therapy business at school/6th form with his friend Maeve, which he needs to hide from his laid back oversharing s*x therapist mother, Jean (Gillian Anderson, as glamorous and excellent as always).

The series is set in the present day but has a cool retro 1980s vibe due to the wardrobe and settings, with a great soundtrack.

As I hurtle further towards Gillian Anderson’s age than the kids’ (played by twenty-somethings) age, I found the show no less engaging and funny than I would’ve when I was younger.

As decades pass and new generations of teenagers arrive, the more things change, the more they stay the same. It has everything all teen/young adult dramas have always had, unrequited love, uncomfortable awkwardness, with everyone clueless about what to do and how to talk about it, but this show has an added edge to some tv shows of a similar ilk - it really is hilarious, heartfelt, shows realness and has some truly cringeworthy moments.

Asa Butterfield is cute and endearing as Otis, and he and Maeve (Emma Mackey) have a great relationship and realistic chemistry. Ncuti Gatwa is comical as Otis’s best friend Eric, he has the funniest and the most heart-rending scenes in the show, especially in episodes 5 and 7. Lily is played brilliantly by Tanya Reynold, she needs more screen time. All the supporting cast play great characters including, Connor Swindells as Adam, Aimee Lou Wood as Aimee and Kedar Williams-Stirling, who all have their own interesting sub-plots.

Otis’s high-pitched screams of terror when alone with Lily are hilarious.

Season 2 is filming now, which is great news.