Money Heist →  Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Money Heist is a Spanish show and it’s all about a very well-planned heist. The characters come from all different areas of life and they spend a lot of time trying to pull this nearly impossible bank heist off. You will never know what to expect and be rooting for these criminals. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo is also about a heist. This book has some fantasy elements, but it also explores a variety of different people coming together to pull off a complex heist.

Hollywood → The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Hollywood explores how a number of different people navigate in Hollywood and what it means to be Black, gay, young, and inexperienced in the early period of Hollywood. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid is also about fame and the acting scene in the 1950s-80s, this book also discusses issues such as homophobia and the Hollywood culture.

The Witcher → Throne of Glass series + The Falconer series

If you’re wanting something with magical and badass characters like in The Witcher, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas and The Falconer by Elizabeth May are perfect. All three of these follow assassins/warriors/hunters and they all contain unique elements of magic.

The Politician →  Red, White and Royal Blue

If you’re looking for a politically charged read after watching The Politician then Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston is perfect. Both have great humour, political commentary, and a diverse set of characters.

Elite → One of Us Is Lying

Elite is filled with murder and follows a ‘whodunit’ storyline, if you want another teen murder mystery then One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus is perfect. Elite is a tad more intense and dark, but One of Us Is Lying has been described as The Breakfast Club with murder and will have you at the edge of your seat.

Sex Education →  The Exact Opposite of Okay + Jack of Hearts

Sex Education gave us all the sex education. The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven is all about a girl taking charge and fighting back against the sexist systems she’s been exposed to, so this one is great if you liked Aimee’s storyline in season 2. Jack of Hearts by L.C. Rosen is all about Jack the school ‘slut’ and what happens when he starts giving sex advice to his fellow students. One student starts threatening him and Jack learns that being out can get complicated too.

Queer Eye →  Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek

Queer Eye showed us all that being who we are is enough and sometimes we just need five gay men to assist us in finding our true colours. Popular by Maya Van Wagenen follows Maya herself and her journey in figuring out what makes someone ‘fit in’ and finding her own voice.

Dear White People → The Hate U Give

Are you wanting another head on look at racism in America after watching Dear White People? Then The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is perfect as it follows Starr and what happens after her friend gets shot by the police right in front of her.

Unbelievable →  Know My Name

Unbelievable told the horrifying true story about a series of rape cases. Know My Name is Chanel Miller’s story as most of us have heard about Brock Turner, but what about the girl that he raped? This is her story.

Never Have I Ever → When Dimple Met Rishi

Never Have I Ever is a great insight into Indian culture and what it means to be a teenager. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon is a fun look at teenage dating and Indian family expectations. Both of these are so sweet and funny!

Jessica Jones → Renegades

Jessica Jones is a new take on superheroes. It has a darker undertone and Jessica isn’t the typical hero. Renegades by Marissa Meyer explores the line between hero and villain and gives us a unique superhero story.

What is your favourite Netflix show? Do you have any other recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!

The post What To Read Based On Your Favourite Netflix Original Show appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Sex Education is a British Netflix show that everyone has been screaming about. If you are one of the many people who have recently binge watched the second season that dropped earlier this year and are looking for something new to watch, then here is a list of seven shows that might be a good fit for you!

1. Euphoria

This show stars Zendaya and it’s filled with so many other fantastic actors such as Jacob Elordie (The Kissing Booth), Eric Dane (Greys Anatomy), and Sydney Sweeney (The Handmaid’s Tale). Euphoria follows Rue (Zendaya), who has just returned from rehab and how she and her classmates are dealing with all the challenges of being a teenager.  This show is a lot darker and more graphic (R18+ content) than Sex Education, but it discusses very relevant issues, has a diverse cast, great female friendships, a wide variety of relationships, and will have you crying just like Sex Education.

2. Looking For Alaska

This show stars Kristine Froseth (The Society), Ron Cephas Jones (This Is Us), Timothy Simons (Veep), and a wide range of new young actors. This TV show is based on John Green’s book and has done a beautiful job of bringing these characters onto the screen. It is set at a boarding school in the woods, Miles is new but finds a loyal group of friends very quickly. Alaska, who is the love interest of Miles, is very similar to Maeve in Sex Education as they both have a very dark outlook on life and are feminists. This TV show has some great friendships and is set in the 90s, so it has a similar throwback vibe like Sex Education.

3. One Day At A Time

One Day At A Time stars Justina Machado (Jane the Virgin), Rita Moreno, Isabella Gomez (A Cinderella Story: Christmas), and so many other incredible people. This show is all about a Cuban-American family and it tackles a large amount of current issues, while also being incredibly funny. If you’re wanting something a bit more humorous or lighthearted, this is a great binge.

4. The End of The F***ing World

Jessica Barden (Hanna) and Alex Lawther (Black Mirror) star as the two leads in this show. This is british so you will get to hear the british accent again. Alyssa (Barden) and James (Lawther), who are both outsiders set off on a road trip but find a lot of obstacles along the way. This show is very dark but it feels similar to Sex Education as it once again explores what it means to be a teen as well as showing a relationship in a new light.

5. The Bold Type

The Bold Type stars Katie Stevens (Faking It), Aisha Dee (Chasing Life) and Meghann Fahy (Next to Normal on Broadway) as three badass women working for a magazine. This show is all about girl power and starting the conversation about things such as sexual assault, sexual orientation, breast cancer and more. It is great for people who loved Sex Education as it combines tackling important issues with homour and romance.

6. Glee

Glee is a little older than the rest of the shows on this list but it started talking about significant and relevant teen issues well before its time. It stars Lea Michele (Scream Queens), Jane Lynch (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) and so many other incredible people you will know from Broadway musicals and movies. This show is all about a high school Glee club and how they are at the bottom of the food chain. There is a lot of singing on this show, so if that isn’t your cup of tea you might want to skip this one. But it talks about teen pregnancy, homophobia, racism and so much more.

7. Fleabag

Fleabag has won countless awards and has a star studded cast. It stars people such as Phoebe Waller-Bridge (writer of Fleabag and Killing Eve), Olivia Colman (Broadchurch), Andrew Scott (Sherlock) and Brett Gelmann (Stranger Things). This show is about Fleabag and how she is dealing with life. This show is wacky, heartbreaking, funny and so incredibly british.

Hopefully one of the 7 shows listed will become a nice and easy binge. All 7 of the shows contain some sort of element found in Sex Education. So get to it, make a cup of tea and curl up!

Do you have any other recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!

The post What To Watch Next After Watching ‘Sex Education’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Just over a year ago, the first season of Laurie Nunn’s progressive teen comedy Sex Education arrived on Netflix. It was a roaring success both critically and commercially – when Netflix released viewing figures towards the end of last year, Sex Education was their fifth most-watched original show with 40 million views. It wasn’t long before a second season was confirmed, and all eight episodes dropped on January 17th 2020.

In its first season, Sex Education introduced us to awkward teenager Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield) and his mother Jean (Gillian Anderson), who is a sex and relationship therapist. The show was rounded out with a cast of three-dimensional and interesting characters, amongst them are misunderstood misfit Maeve (Emma Mackey), theatrical gay best friend Eric (Ncuti Gatwa), and Adam, a bully with some figuring out to do around his own sexuality (Connor Swindells).

On the surface, it may sound like your run-of-the-mill teen comedy perpetuating some straightforward stereotypes, but there’s a lot more to Sex Education than first meets the eye, as our review of Season 1 explored last year. Yes, there was sex, and a lot of it, but it was awkward, messy and real, alongside nuanced exploration of young adult identity, sexuality, and friendship.

So, where did we leave off? After eight episodes, Otis finally got over his fear of masturbation and started a relationship with Ola (Patricia Allison). Adam was shipped off to military school having just given a very confused Eric a clandestine blowjob in detention. And Maeve, having just been expelled, had finally accepted her feelings for Otis… just as she found out he’d started dating Ola.

Season 2 picks up all these loose ends, tangles them up a bit, frees some, and throws a few more into the mix!

We return to Moordale, a distinctly American-feeling high school somehow located in the English countryside, in the midst of a chlamydia outbreak, and resident amateur sex counsellor Otis is in high demand. “I read that I should rub bleach on my vagina,” says one desperate student, “Is that true?” No. No, that is definitely not true.

Otis starts the season adamant that he’s putting the sex clinic behind him, but it isn’t long before Maeve is back at school and he’s giving advice again. Now there’s some competition, though – his mother has been brought in as an expert consultant and is unknowingly stealing his customers by offering guidance to the student body for free!

Between being the school ‘sex kid’, his relationship with Ola, his still-not-quite-gotten-over feelings for Maeve, his newfound addiction to masturbation, and his resistance to his mum’s new boyfriend, Otis has a lot to navigate. And he certainly isn’t the only one.

Part of Sex Education’s strength is its increasingly diverse cast of characters, all of whom have their own challenges and struggles. The writers aren’t afraid to touch on complex and dark subjects – Maeve’s difficult relationship with her mother, for example, explores the nature of addiction, relapse, and parental neglect.

We also have ongoing engagement with what could be considered ‘secondary’ characters from the first season. Jackson (Kedar Williams-Stirling) is the school jock from an interracial, same-sex household whose desperation to escape his sport leads to serious self-harm. Aimee (Aimee Lou Wood) has a particularly moving storyline around sexual assault, handled with delicacy and tact.

Season 2 expands its cast and level of diversity with the addition of Rahim (Sami Outalbali) – French, gay, atheist, lover of poetry; Viv (Chinenye Ezeudu) – black, genius, plus-size, head of the quiz team; Isaac (George Rovinson) – disabled, dance instructor, neighbour to Maeve with a dark sense of humour; and Florence (Mirren Mack) – Scottish, drama queen, asexual but not aromantic.

There is a risk by ticking all these diversity ‘boxes’ that some of them are only glanced over. Florence is probably the best example of this coming across as something of a ‘token’ asexual, though she also has an exchange with Jean Milburn that is arguably one of the most beautiful pieces of writing from the show: “I don’t want to have sex at all. Ever, with anyone. I think I might be broken,” Florence tells her, to which Jean later responds, “Sex doesn’t make us whole. So how could you ever be broken?”

The standout of Season 2 is undoubtedly Episode 7, where a storyline that has been building since Episode 3 comes to head. A group of female characters end up in detention together – Maeve, Olivia, Aimee, Ola, Lily and Viv – and are challenged to prepare a presentation on what binds them together as women. For a while all they can do is sit around and grumble, until finally Aimee bursts into tears.

After Aimee shares her story of what happened in Episode 3, all the others share until they realise that what binds them together is, unfortunately, sexual assault or harassment in some form. Since being assaulted, Aimee has been unable to take the bus – at the end of Episode 7, the others meet her at the bus stop and help her get on board, an empowering demonstration of women supporting one another.

It’s amazing how much Sex Education manages to get through in just eight episodes a season. With such a strong cast behind it as well as Nunn and her writing team, it’s a show that deals with an incredible breadth of subjects relevant not only to teenagers but to anyone in today’s world navigating the ins and outs of sexuality, identity and friendship.

Luckily, it was confirmed by Netflix on February 10th that a third season is already in the works, likely to drop in January 2021!

What did you think of the second season of Sex Education? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Review: Sex Education Season 2 appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

There ain’t no (self-respecting?) 34-year-old who lives for a binge-able teen comedy as much as me. When I heard that Laurie Nunn’s Sex Education had dropped on Netflix, I was on it like a car bonnet. To both my surprise and delight, what I found was so much more than I’d been expecting.

Sex Education may be fundamentally British, filmed in the rolling hills of the Wye Valley straddling the border between England and Wales, but it’s sporting a distinctly heady, American cologne straight out of the 80s. If the funky soundtrack, baseball-style jackets, or stereotypically bitchy cool crowd (think along the lines of “The Plastics” of Mean Girls fame) don’t convince you of that, then I don’t know what will. This unusual marriage between both British characters and filming locations and the tropes of 80s American coming-of-age classics like The Breakfast Club makes for such a fresh take – albeit a highly progressive and sexually explicit one – on this type of show.

Sex is a big part of most people’s lives, and for many, first encounters happen during their late teen years. Such a time can be stuffed full of the most disconcerting mixture of excitement, disappointment, fear, and embarrassment. Whoever you are, at some point, sex would likely have been a big deal, mostly because you had zero idea about what the hell you were doing. Practising kissing with the nook behind your elbow might have been an option, but there were few ways of learning how to have sex other than the massively unrealistic scenarios played out in porn – that is if you were able to get your hands on any as a teenager. Oh dear. This evokes traumatising memories of the awful moment my parents confronted me about my internet porn exploits. The lesson learned? Always delete your search history.

For socially-awkward virgin Otis (Asa Butterfield), whose promiscuous mother Jean (Gillian Anderson) is a sex therapist, a porn-filled internet search history is the least of his worries. “Sweetheart, I’ve noticed you’re pretending to masturbate,” Jean announces with the nonchalance you might expect of a mother asking her son what he’d like for breakfast. But Otis chooses to keep his profound fear of masturbation – rooted somewhere between Jean’s unorthodox parenting style and his father’s extramarital affair – to himself. In an unlikely team, Otis and misunderstood rebel Maeve (Emma Mackey) – a smart cookie with killer wit – establish a clandestine sex counselling service for students. To their amazement, the randy, sexually-challenged clients quickly roll in and business is booming in no time. But as Otis and Maeve grow closer, and as his relationship with best friend Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) suffers, at what cost do their efforts to sexually liberate their peers come?

Teen comedies – the likes of Skins – have long been covering the ins and outs of sex, but few do it with the same empathic frankness as Nunn and her co-writers, Sophie Goodhart, Laura Neal, Laura Hunter, and Freddy Syborn. This show, which is wise beyond the years of its characters, avoids treating the subject matter of sex gratuitously or salaciously. Rather, it plumps for a reasonable, conscientious, and realistic way of tackling real teen issues. The end product is something that could so easily have been desperately cringe-worthy but instead comes off as wonderfully touching in parts and deliciously hysterical and farcical in others. Thanks to some sharp, well-developed writing, one moment you’ll be fighting back the tears, and the next you’ll have a belly laugh yanked right out of you.

Every episode of Sex Education offers new surprises, few capable of being seen coming. There are some that’ll pull your jaw to the floor, but I called one or two twists from the start. Though, their reveals weren’t any less enjoyable as a consequence. Not one performance of the ensemble cast is worthy of criticism, each member doing their characters and the problems they face true justice. Butterfield and Gatwa stand out from the rest, both young acting powerhouses who have very bright futures ahead of them. Hats off to Alistair Petrie too, who plays authoritarian headmaster Mr Groff – as well as the excessively stern father of Eric’s troubled bully Adam (Connor Swindells).

Seeing as this series is all about sex, there’s no need to keep my closing statement clean. Therefore, I’m happy to declare that I’ve got a big hard-on for Sex Education. I’ve got a feeling that it’ll get you going too – and without a helping hand.

Also, good news! Sex Education has been renewed for a second season with eight episodes!

What did you think of the first season of Sex Education? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Review: ‘Sex Education’ Season 1 appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Set in the fictional English town of Moordale and shot entirely in Wales, UK, Sex Education is a contemporary British love-letter to the classic American high-school story starring Asa Butterfield as Otis Milburn, the only child of two sex therapists, and award-winning actress Gillian Anderson as Jean Milburn, his mother, a larger-than-life sex therapist with no filter.

Meet Otis Milburn – an inexperienced, socially awkward high school student who lives with his mother, a sex therapist. Surrounded by manuals, videos and tediously open conversations about sex, Otis is a reluctant expert on the subject. When his home life is revealed at school, Otis realises that he can use his specialist knowledge to gain status. He teams up with Maeve (Emma Mackey), a whip-smart bad-girl, and together they set up an underground sex therapy clinic to deal with their fellow students’ weird and wonderful problems. Through his analysis of teenage sexuality, Otis realises he may need some therapy of his own.

“It pretends to be a show about sex, but it’s actually a romantic and funny show about love,” producer Jamie Campbell told Variety. “It’s an antidote to shows that present the teenage experience of sex as superhumanly confident and experimental. Our characters have an endless supply of sexual problems that need to be solved. Otis has the expertise to provide the answers, but has problems of his own, starting with the fact that he’s never had sex himself.”

The series stars Asa Butterfield (Ender’s Game), Gillian Anderson (The X-Files), Emma Mackey, Kedar Williams-Stirling (Wolfblood), Aimee-Lou Wood, and Connor Swindells (VS) as Otis, Maeve and Eric’s Moordale classmates.

Created and written by Laurie Nunn and executive produced by Jamie Campbell, and co-executive produced by Sian Robins-Grace. The series is a production of Eleven Film for Netflix and was directed by Ben Taylor (Catastrophe) and Kate Herron.

Sex Education premieres January 11th on Netflix.

Will you be watching Sex Education? Tell us in the comments below!

The post New To Netflix: Sex Education appeared first on The Nerd Daily.