Netflix's newest limited series has everyone talking.
The show, which premiered on Netflix last week, is a gripping four-part drama series from the United Kingdom that explores the loss of adolescence and the complexities of youth.
Read on to see why everyone is talking about this new show and why the show's writers, Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne, have called for the series to be shown in schools and Parliament.
"It's something that people need to be talking about, hopefully that's what drama can do," Thorne told the BBC.
The series, in which each episode is filmed in one take, follows 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), whose world is turned upside down when he is arrested for the murder of a teenage girl named Katie, who went to his school.
"This is a show about a kid who does the wrong thing and causes great harm. To understand him, we have to understand the pressures upon him," Thorne told the BBC.
While the series isn't based on a true story, Graham -- who portrays Eddie Miller, Jamie's dad in the series, in addition to being a co-writer -- told Rolling Stone UK that he drew inspiration from the several real-life incidents that happened among youth in the U.K., specifically several incidents that involved the stabbing of teen girls.
"There had been a number of incidents where young boys were stabbing and killing young girls, and I'm calling them young boys because they're not developed to be men," Graham said.
He added, "They'd happened up and down the country, and my objective was merely to ask: 'What's going on? Why is this happening? Can we just have a look at it, because this kind of thing didn't happen when I was a young lad.'"
According to the Office for National Statistics, there were around 50,500 offenses involving a sharp instrument in England and Wales (excluding Greater Manchester) in the year ending in March 2024.
ONS added that in 2023-2024, "17% of those admitted to hospital for assault by sharp object were aged 18 or younger."
Film critic Peter Travers raved about the new series in a recent review and aid that it is "sure to rank with the year's very best."
He said, "'Adolescence' observes with skin-crawling dread and piercing clarity the bruises that come with being young and the societal forces that inflict them."
Read his full review here.
Along with Graham and Cooper, the cast also includes Faye Marsay, Ashley Walters, Christine Tremarco, Amelie Pease, Erin Doherty, Austin Haynes and Lewis Pemberton.
Among the many topics that are touched on in the series are bullying, the impact of social media and mental health.
Graham told The Independent, that when he was young, if there was something going on that parents wanted to protect their children from, "You'd be sent to your room."
"But today even within the context of that home, when lads and girls go to their bedrooms, they have the world at their fingertips," he added.
Another topic that is explored in the show is masculinity and misogyny, specifically male rage and toxic incel culture, a term used in online forums to describe a subculture of the "manosphere," which is a portmanteau of "involuntary celibate."
Is it time to talk about toxic masculinity?According to the Anti-Defamation League, incels are "heterosexual men who blame women and society for their lack of romantic success."
Graham told Rolling Stone UK, "It was just about looking at the influence that certain people can have upon our children without our knowledge, do you know what I mean? Boys are very influenced in many ways."
In his interview with the BBC, Thorne talked about Jamie's character and said, "We have to understand the things he's been consuming and that means especially looking at the internet, the manosphere and incel culture."
After the show premiered on Netflix, parents took to social media to share their thoughts.
One father said the show caused him to "look so deeply, inwardly and think about choices" they've made as a dad.
A U.K. mom on TikTok analyzed the show and discussed the challenges that come with parenting children growing up in the digital age, as well as instilling proper values.
Graham, who is also a father to a teenage son, told The Independent that he wanted to explore who was to blame for Jamie's behavior and actions in the series.
"We wanted him to come from an ordinary family," he said. "We wanted to be mindful from the very beginning that there was no way you could point the finger. Dad wasn't particularly violent in the house and didn't raise his hand to mum or the boy or his daughter. Mum wasn't an alcoholic. Jamie wasn't abused sexually or mentally or physically."
"Then you go, who is to blame? Who is accountable? Maybe we're all accountable," he added. "Family, school, society, community, environment. Maybe all of these things should take some accountability. And then also, within the concepts of what we were creating as well, that microcosm of the home and the macrocosm of the world outside."
On March 19, the series was a topic of discussion in Parliament.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed Graham and Thorne's proposal to have the series shown in schools and in Parliament.
"At home we are watching 'Adolescence' with our children," Keir said. "I've got a 16-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, and it's a very good drama to watch. This violence carried out by young men, influenced by what they see online, is a real problem."
"It's abhorrent, and we have to tackle it," the prime minister added.
If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal, substance use or other mental health crises, please call or text 988. You will reach a trained crisis counselor for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also go to 988lifeline.org.
