Sex Education (Netflix)
Coming-of-age comedy-dramas encapsulate that messy early stage of life – teenage years. You are either a cool kid or socially awkward, there is no in-between. In a crowded market, Laurie Nunn has successfully created a unique take on the genre – Sex Education. A refreshing divergence from its clichéd American counterparts, Sex Education approaches important and complex topics with both humour and heartbreaking honesty.
The show centres around Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield), a socially awkward high school pupil with a sex therapist for a mother (Gillian Anderson), as he navigates the most important part of teenage-hood – sex. Otis and Maeve Wiley (Emma Mackey), a business-savvy “bad girl”, set up an underground sex therapy clinic to advise fellow classmates. Perhaps Otis himself sums it up best: “Love isn’t about grand gestures, or the moon and stars. It’s just dumb luck. And sometimes, you meet someone who feels the same way. And then, sometimes, you’re unlucky. But one day, you’re gonna meet someone who appreciates you for who you are.”
The Sopranos (HBO)
An oldie but a goodie, why not revisit arguably the greatest TV show of all time – The Sopranos. With a prequel film (The Many Saints of Newark) detailing The Sopranos backstory set to be released later this year, it is the perfect time to pull on a silk shirt, grab a fat cigar and binge-watch the award-winning crime drama classic.
Endlessly re-watchable, David Chase’s 86-episode, six-season mobster epic follows Tony Soprano, a New Jersey Italian-American mafia boss, as he struggles to balance his family life and crime organisation. James Gandolfini’s masterful performance as Tony is like a fine wine, it only gets better with age. The therapy sessions with Dr. Jennifer Melfi are a masterclass in dialogue-driven television and subtle humour. It’s almost impossible to watch single episodes of The Sopranos, but don’t get too carried away or you may also find yourself in the therapist’s chair.