Sex Education season 3 is finally being released to Netflix, but when will viewers get to watch the series' new episodes on the platform? It’s been a year and a half since viewers got their fill of Sex Education, with season 2 ending on a major cliffhanger that saw Otis leaving Maeve a voicemail proclaiming he loved her (which got deleted by Isaac, of course). Season 2 was released to Netflix on January 17, 2020 and Sex Education season 3 is finally headed to streaming after a long wait that included a delay in production due to the ongoing pandemic.
When Netflix first started out, the streaming platform didn’t have any original series. But that changed when House of Cards was released to Netflix in February 2013. Since then, the streamer has been paving the way with original content, including Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things, and The Crown, among several notable other series. When Sex Education season 1 debuted in January 2019, it received critical praise and a lot of dedicated viewers, so it’s no surprise the series has continued doing well. Unlike previous seasons of the show, Sex Education season 3 isn’t releasing in January, but on September 17, 2021.
This is due to the pandemic shutting down TV and movie productions for several months in early 2020, so the release of the series had to be pushed back as well. Now that things are back on track, Sex Education season 3 is officially scheduled to release on Netflix at 12:01 a.m. PT/3:01 a.m. ET on Friday, September 17. This release is on par with other Netflix series and movies, all of which tend to release around the same time on Fridays (or Wednesday mornings, if applicable).
Such an early drop on the streamer ensures that Sex Education is available to watch by anyone in the U.S. (and globally) at any point on the Friday of its debut, and throughout the weekend of its release as well. Depending on how well the third season does within its first 28 days of release will ultimately determine whether Netflix will renew Sex Education for season 4. Season 1 saw 40 million viewers stream the series in the first month of release and, although the exact viewership numbers weren’t released for its sophomore season, it was clearly enough to get a season 3 on Netflix.
Sex Education season 2 left off with quite a few hanging plot threads that will be picked up in season 3, including Jean’s pregnancy, the state of Eric and Adam’s relationship, the start of Ola and Lily’s, and Otis’ deleted voicemail to Maeve. Sex Education season 3, as with the previous two, will consist of eight episodes that will all be available to stream on September 17th.