Netflix’s Best Sex Education Replacement Is This Wild 3-Part Australian Reboot

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If you’re looking for something like Netflix’s Sex Education, check out the reboot of a classic Australian teen show – its final season just dropped. Though it’s been almost three years since Sex Education last aired, it’s still considered one of the most forward-thinking teen dramas of the last decade, tackling important issues like sex, identity, relationships, family, and the challenges of growing up today.

The Netflix series Sex Education stood out for being both hilarious and deeply moving, thanks to a talented young cast including Ncuti Gatwa, Aimee Lou Wood, and Gillian Anderson. Another series, Heartbreak High, captures that same balance. Set in the suburbs of Sydney, it follows a group of relatable and realistically flawed teenagers, much like the beloved characters from Sex Education.

Heartbreak High Is A Fun Ride With Compelling Characters

The 2022 reboot of Heartbreak High brought back the beloved Australian drama for a new generation. The series centers on Amerie (Ayesha Maddon) and the students of Hartley High, who navigate the usual high school social groups. Everything changes when a scandalous list detailing student relationships – created by Amerie and her best friend Harper (Asher Yasbincek) – is discovered. As a result, they and their peers are required to attend special classes focused on consent, identity, and sex education.

It takes time, but Amerie and her classmates eventually form a strong bond built on trust, understanding, and forgiveness. Like Sex Education, Heartbreak High excels at showing how surprising friendships and relationships can profoundly change people’s lives for the better, positively impacting their happiness and future. The show gives almost every main character a complete and realistic journey of growth, supported by their friends and personal experiences.

Like Otis and Eric in Sex Education, Harper and Amerie are the heart of Heartbreak High, with a friendship that feels strong and lasting. But the show also highlights other important relationships, such as the supportive bond between Darren and Quinni, and the surprising but heartwarming romance between Missy and Spider. These connections demonstrate how vital genuine relationships are during the crucial years of growing up.

The characters in Heartbreak High aren’t perfect, and they’re still figuring things out even at the end of season 3. They stumble, make bad choices, and sometimes let their friends down, taking time to learn from their mistakes. But ultimately, they’re just trying to be good people while also dealing with the typical drama of school, like silly pranks and questionable relationships.

Heartbreak High Explores The Same Themes As Sex Education

The new Heartbreak High on Netflix can be tough to watch at times, but it tackles important issues that many teens and young adults face today. The show explores all kinds of relationships while also dealing with serious topics like sexual assault, racism, homophobia, police brutality, bullying, loneliness, and shame.

Both shows don’t avoid depicting the difficult results of traumatic events. The characters feel real – they aren’t simply created to fulfill diversity requirements. Each one has personal hopes, fears, and dreams, and their past experiences – like the sexual assaults Harper and Aimee (Wood) endured, or the targeted violence faced by Eric and Malakai (Thomas Weatherall) – understandably shape who they become, making them relatable to viewers.

Even with its serious themes, Heartbreak High is consistently funny and ultimately uplifting. It’s not without flaws – some scenes feel exaggerated, similar to the later episodes of Sex Education, and a few characters, like Ant Vaughn, don’t get the development they deserved in the third season. However, the show always remains committed to its core message and the meaningful connections between its characters, much like Sex Education did.

All episodes of Heartbreak High (2022) and Sex Education are streaming now, only on Netflix.

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2026-04-04 15:19