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When Adolescence was released on March 13, 2025, few expected it to become Netflix’s biggest U.K. series. Within four weeks, it had climbed to 114.5 million views and was trending in all 93 countries where Netflix charts are tracked.
Created by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne and directed by Philip Barantini, the show was made in partnership with Warp Films, Matriarch Productions, and Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment. The creators chose to film each episode as one continuous take, which gave the show a tense, unfiltered style from start to finish.
At the center of the story is Jamie Miller, a 13-year-old boy played by Owen Cooper, who is arrested for allegedly murdering his classmate, Katie Leonard. His father, Eddie Miller, is portrayed by Stephen Graham.
One of the show’s most discussed features is that each episode was shot in one unbroken take. There are no edits, hidden transitions, or retakes stitched together later.
Cinematographer Matthew Lewis used the DJI Ronin 4D gimbal, a small camera rig that moved smoothly without shaking or disrupting the flow. Each episode took three weeks to complete—one for rehearsals, one for technical setup, and one for filming.
There were shots that involved moving through real homes and schools and even transitioning into drone shots mid-scene. In one episode, the camera rises above a school and then flies across the town to show Eddie laying flowers at a memorial site.
Mistakes meant starting from the beginning. Lewis recalled bumping into a wall 30 minutes into a nearly perfect take. “That was the end of that one,” he said.
The Adolescence show doesn’t focus only on crime. It looks at how Jamie changed and where his thoughts came from. He had been spending time online, drawn into the “manosphere” — an internet space filled with misogynistic ideas, anger toward women, and toxic behavior targeting young boys.
Jamie tells his psychologist, Dr. Briony Ariston (played by Erin Doherty), that his actions weren’t “as bad” as others. “Most boys would’ve touched her,” he says. “So that makes me better, don’t you think?”
The show names Andrew Tate, a real-life influencer with millions of followers. Tate has been charged with rape, human trafficking, and tax evasion in Romania, the U.K., and the U.S.. Even with the alleged charges, he remains popular with young audiences.
A YouGov poll in 2023 found that 1 in 6 British boys ages 6–15 held a positive view of Tate. Among 13–15-year-olds, nearly 1 in 4 said the same.
Doherty said, “That’s why we had to use his name. He represents a real threat, and pretending it doesn’t exist would be dishonest.”
Some believed Adolescence was based on the Southport stabbings in July 2024, where Axel Rudakubana killed three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. However, the show was written and filmed before that tragedy occurred.
Stephen Graham directly addressed this rumor, saying, “They’ve completely got it wrong. It just doesn’t make sense. People are using it to support their own false ideas.”
The inspiration actually came from two earlier stabbings of young girls in the U.K., one of them in Liverpool, Graham’s hometown.
Owen Cooper had never acted before. He was chosen from over 500 auditions. During a final workshop, Graham told him, “From now on, I’m your dad,” and walked out saying, “He’s the next Robert De Niro.”
Cooper stars alongside:
Their chemistry carried the show. Erin Doherty said working with Cooper reminded her why she became an actor, “He brought something real. He made me better.”
The show struck a nerve across the U.K. Even Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has a 16-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter, mentioned it in Parliament, saying, “It hit home hard.”
Parents began reaching out to the cast. Graham said many fathers told him they went straight to their child’s room after watching to talk or to hug them. “That’s why we did this,” he said.
Netflix announced plans to show Adolescence for free in schools across the U.K. Cooper, still in school himself, had one request: “I’m not watching it in my own school. No chance.”
Though the series was designed to be self-contained, a follow-up is now being discussed. Plan B Entertainment, co-founded by Brad Pitt, is in talks with the original team.
Pitt was involved from the start. He watched early cuts, helped with the pitch, and supported the creative direction.
Plan B co-president Dede Gardner said, “We’re thinking about how to widen the lens but not lose the heart of the story.” Any second season would likely follow new characters but keep the one-shot format.
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