By Kat Littfin

The new British drama Adolescence has already received critical acclaim. Netflix released the show on Mar. 13, and it has since garnered almost 100 million views. The series features stellar acting performances, pertinent and relevant topics, and technically intricate production elements, making it a must-watch for all audiences.

Adolescence opens with a heated and tense scene: police forcibly enter a seemingly nondescript English home in search of 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), whom they accuse of stabbing classmate Katie Leonard. Immediately, the atmosphere of the show is tense, as law enforcement officials interrogate Jamie and officially accuse him of stabbing his classmate with incriminating video evidence. The series is relatively short, including four one-hour-long episodes, each one focusing on a different facet of Jamie’s community affected by his crime. The first episode details his detainment and interrogation, the second shows the impact of Jamie’s crime on his school and community, the third follows a criminal psychologist’s interview with Jamie shortly after his detainment, and the series finale focuses on Jamie’s family months after his initial arrest. Adolescence strays from the typical whodunit trope so often portrayed in TV crime dramas, as it is explicitly clear throughout the series that Jamie is guilty of stabbing his classmate. It instead focuses on the psychological impact that a violent crime has on a variety of individuals and the factors that provoke such actions in seemingly non-violent people. 

The making of Adolescence featured an abundance of research and skilled production. The recent increase in violent knife crime in England and “alpha male” internet content inspired co-creator Stephen Graham, who plays Jamie’s father in the series, to make a call-to-action piece. Graham and writer Jack Thorne developed the story, and director Phillip Baratini aided with production. Each episode of the series was filmed in one shot, meaning that there were no cuts or CGI piecing scenes together. This made the process of creating an episode extremely taxing, and some episodes had to be reshot up to 16 times. Despite the many takes actors had to run through, Adolescence features deeply powerful and convincing acting. Cooper had never acted before Adolescence, yet he performed intensely emotional and dialogue-dense scenes throughout the show. Erin Doherty, who plays the criminal psychologist who speaks with Jamie, and Graham also gave notable performances, both having stirring dialogue and poignant acting scenes.

While being a gripping and touching show, Adolescence portrays many relevant topics. As previously mentioned, part of Jamie’s motivation to kill his classmate stems from “alpha male” content fed to him through individuals such as Andrew Tate, influencing Jamie’s view of women as sexual objects and subordinate beings. Such content is prevalent on the internet and has influenced a slew of misogynistic ideology, becoming more embedded in teen culture. Adolescence depicts how such messaging can spur violence and destruction in young men. The series also touches on generational trauma, as Jamie’s father realizes that he may have passed on his inherited temper to his son. Events after his son’s imprisonment force him to face his guilt and accept that he alone was not to blame for his son’s violence and devastating loss of innocence.

If you are looking for a new show to watch (and possibly binge and finish in a day), consider watching Adolescence. Its pertinent storyline, moving portrayal of complex characters, and unique cinematography will have you reeled in from the pilot to the finale.

(Sources: Wikipedia, Netflix)