WARNING: Spoilers ahead!
Netflix has served us up a cracker of a TV show just in time for the Bank Holiday weekend.
Adolescence is rapidly shaping up to be one of the must-watch series of 2025 with some viewers even going so far as to say that it’s the best thing the streaming site has churned out in years.
So what’s all the fuss about? Well, here’s everything you need to know about Adolescence:
What’s Adolescence about?
From the opening scene of Adolescence, which shows the police burst through the doors of the Miller family home, you get the sense that this is a show of seismic social repercussions.
The everyday family life of the Millers is upended when their son Jamie is accused of murdering Katie, a girl in his school.
Viewers are dragged along every excruciating moment as the 13-year-old is wrangled through the British criminal justice system.
Episode two sees the investigation take a twist when Detective Inspector Bascombe visits Jamie’s school to look for the murder weapon. His son also attends the school and is able to shed some light on the events leading up to Katie’s death.
The third episode delves into Jamie’s psyche when Briony Ariston carries out a psychological assessment of Jamie and we learn that he tried to ask Katie out seemingly to make her feel better after a topless picture of her was passed around on Snapchat.
She rebuffed his advances and apparently sent him emojis blasting him for trying to ask her out and he claims she called him an incel. The finale ends in a tearjerker, have tissues to hand.
Who’s in Adolescence?
Adolescence stars Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller, who has received widespread praise for his adept handling of the gritty role.
Stephen Graham, best known for Snatch and This Is England, stars as his dad Eddie and has also proved to be a fan-favourite.
Erin Doherty, who has family roots in Donegal, stars as Briony Ariston while former So Solid Crew member Ashley Walters plays DI Luke Bascombe.
Black Mirror actress Fay Marsay plays DS Misha Frank while Christine Tremarco plays Manda Miller.
Why is Adolescence winning over critics?
The show is proving to be wildly popular for exploring gritty and hugely relevant social issues such as cyberbullying and incel culture along with the radicalisation of young men.
What are people saying about Adolescence?
One fan hailed the show as being in a league of its own saying: ‘#Adolescence was the best thing Netflix has done in years alongside Baby Reindeer, the camera work was astoundingly good.’
There was huge praise for Owen Cooper, with one person posting: ‘The kid that plays Jamie is doing some incredible acting… really incredible, I can’t wait to see what he does next, he’s got real talent.’
‘Haven’t witnessed such potential in an actor in a really, really long time,’ declared someone else. Stephen Graham’s performance also hit a nerve with viewers.
‘I know it’s been said a million times but Stephen Graham is an absolutely spectacular actor. All you have to see in that scene where his son is strip searched is his face and it conveys every emotion,’ said one person.
Anything else to note?
To heighten the drama each episode of Adolescence was filmed in one continuous shot, and this decision has definitely served its purpose.
All four episodes of Adolescence are streaming on Netflix now.
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Filmed in on continuous shot