Why Gillian Anderson Originally Threw the Sex Education Script Away

“I read a teeny bit of the first episode and threw it in the bin,” she told EW. “Initially I felt that it was too on the nose.”

In an interview with Elle, Anderson expanded on her initial reaction to the show and said, “The fact that she’s a professional therapist and yet she’s rummaging through her son’s drawers and prying into his life? I kept saying, ‘Is this too over the top? Is it just too unlikely that somebody could have such a different value system, and such a different moral framework, depending on the situation she’s facing?'”

The Sex Education character is completely different from what American audiences recently saw Anderson in, whether it was reprising her role as Special Agent Dana Scully in the two-season The X-Files revival or dealing with serial killers in The Fall and Hannibal. Ahead of the first season premiere, Anderson told E! News she was always looking for something different in a role.

The second season of Sex Education found Jean in Otis’ school, attempting to rehab the sex education curriculum. There, she learns about Otis’ secret sex clinic, befriends the principal’s wife and eventually has her notes on the sex-related questions posed by students exposed. She’s kicked out, breaks up with her boyfriend and…learns she’s pregnant.

“…I think these characters…they’ve got legs. I think I could do some more with them if we’re given the chance,” she said. “[Netflix] is very supportive and really wanting us to tell the stories that we feel passionate about. It really feels like we’re all on the same page, wanting to make the same show.”

Sex Education season two is now streaming on Netflix.