Warning: spoilers for Adolescence ahead.
This past weekend Adolescence, a new four-episode miniseries, topped Netflix’s charts and was unanimously hailed as some of the best television of the year. In fact, just one day after its March 13 release, Adolescence soared straight to the No. 1 spot on Netflix’s streaming chart and in the days since has held onto a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
This unflinching British limited series, written by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, is about a crime: A 13-year-old boy, Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), has been accused of murdering a female classmate, Katie Leonard (Emilia Holliday). Each episode is a one-shot—done in a single take, in an immersive style that feels alternately hectic and unbearably intimate taking the viewer along on the intense search for answers about what really happened to Katie.
The series opens with Jamie’s arrest in Episode 1, while Episode 2 shifts focus to the police probe and its ripple effect on Jamie’s friends and classmates. In Episode 3, seven days after his arrest, Jamie meets with a court-appointed psychologist. The finale jumps ahead 13 months and explores the aftermath of the allegations on Jamie’s family.
Adolescence purposely shines a light on the corrosive impact of social media and misogynist influencers on some teenage boys. Each episode of Adolescence bites at the question “How did Jamie get here?” from a different angle and the four episodes may have more to say than almost any recent work of television about the making of the modern self—the way our personalities and offline histories tangle up with online life, making it harder and harder to understand people’s motivations and actions.
Here are ten things that you should know about Netflix’s new series, Adolescence.
Is Adolescence a true story?
Adolescence isn’t based on one specific true story; however, it is based on real recent events in the United Kingdom. The producers wanted to put out a call for action following the rise of knife crime in recent years.
“We’ve seen an epidemic of knife crime amongst young lads, up and down the country. And for me, there were certain instances that really stuck out where young boys—and they are young boys, you know, they’re not men—were killing young girls,” Stephen Graham told Next on Netflix earlier this year.
Speaking to Netflix, Graham said: “One of our aims was to ask, ‘What is happening to our young men these days, and what are the pressures they face from their peers, from the internet, and from social media? And the pressures that come from all of those things are as difficult for kids here as they are the world over.'”
Co-creator Jack Thorne added that the series was also driven by an exploration of male rage. As he, Graham, and director Philip Barantini reflected on their own identities as men, fathers, partners, and friends, they found themselves “questioning with some intensity” who they were as people, and specifically, as men. “That is a journey I’ve never gone on as a writer before, and it scared me and excited me because it felt like we had something to say,” he said.
Who plays Jamie Miller?
Adolescence features heart-wrenching performances by well-known actors like Stephen Graham, Ashley Walters and Erin Doherty, however the real breakout star is newcomer Owen Cooper, who plays Jamie Miller. Surprisingly Adolescence is the 15-year-old child actor’s first acting credit.
Cooper was just 14 years old when he portrayed Jamie in two episodes of Adolescence. He delivers a captivating performance, starting as a shy and terrified boy in episode one to a boy who quickly unravels after meeting with a court-appointed psychologist (Doherty) in episode three. The performance is one of the most talked about from the show, but it comes from someone who doesn’t have much acting experience.
In fact, Cooper even noted that he’s done “literally nothing” before now.
“I only really wanted to start acting a couple of years ago. It’s not been long,” he said. “I grew up wanting to be a footballer. I don’t know what it was that made me want to do it, but I just wanted to do it. And then I went to lessons and enjoyed it.”
Who else is in the cast of Adolescence?
The main cast of the limited series includes: Adolescence co-creator Stephen Graham plays Eddie Miller, Jamie’s father; Ashley Walters (Top Boy) as Detective Inspector Luke Bascombe; Erin Doherty (The Crown) as Briony Ariston, the clinical psychologist assigned to Jamie’s case; Faye Marsay (Game of Thrones) as DS Misha Frank; Christine Tremarco (The Responder) as Jamie’s mother Manda Miller; Mark Stanley (Happy Valley) as Paul Barlow; Jo Hartley (After Life) as Mrs. Fenumore; and newcomer Amélie Pease as Lisa Miller.
Each episode of Adolescence was filmed in one-shot takes
Director Philip Barantini used his unconventional approach to each of the four episodes of Adolescence, meaning one camera followed the action and the actors continuously for the entire hour of the episode.
Netflix took to X (formerly Twitter) over the weekend to answer some questions fans of the series have had – revealing which takes were used for each episode.
For the first episode producers used the second take, set mostly in a police station, which was captured on the first day of a five-day shoot for the episode. The second episode, which was set inside a school, was filmed in take 13 on day five, amid a huge cast of 370 extras. The third episode was filmed 11 times before the director was happy with the interaction between Jamie and the psychologist. Meanwhile, the final episode was captured during take 16 as the Millers wrestled with the devastating realities of their son’s situation. Like episodes two and three, the finale was shot on the final day of filming.
Netflix said the original plan was to film each episode in full 10 times, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, but a few attempts had to be abandoned, so some episodes had more than 10 takes.
Sometimes episodes were halted because actors fluffed their lines, but on other occasions, they made mistakes and carried on performing. In some episodes, the crew are on screen but are in costume so they blend in with other extras.
Netflix added: “During these rehearsals the cast would also work through the choreography, allowing the DOP (director of photography) to plan the positions of the camera through the whole take, as well as the movements of the crew.”
How did they film the drone shot at the end of episode 2?
Netflix also answered how the series came to an end in episode two, when the camera glided from the school to the crime scene in one seamless take.
The streaming platform’s post explained: ‘The DOP (director of photography) carries the camera and follows a school pupil to the traffic lights with a wide shot as she goes at the end of the school day.
“Before she crosses the road, a team attach the camera to a drone, which then flies a distance of 0.3 miles across the site to the murder scene, where it comes down to a camera operator and team of grips who smoothly catch the camera and transition into a close shot of Stephen Graham. Easy.”
Where was Adolescence filmed?
The series was filmed in South Kirkby, West Yorkshire, and the cast and crew were based at Production Park a studio facility near Wakefield, for six months last summer. Filming began in July 2024, and finished in October 2024.
Some on location filming also took place, one being the Miller house, which is located just a few minutes from the studio.
Why Did Jamie Kill Katie?
At the end of Episode 1, detectives release CCTV footage showing Jamie stabbing Katie seven times in a parking lot. Even after watching the video, Jamie insists he didn’t do it. Director Graham told Tudum that he wanted the audience to experience the “same feelings” as Eddie when he watches the footage and confronts the brutal reality of what his son has done. Finally, in Episode 4, Jamie confesses to killing Katie. Thirteen months later, on Eddie’s 50th birthday, he calls his father to say he’s planning to plead guilty to the murder charge. Co-writer Jack Thorne explained that in this moment, “Jamie now knows what he’s done and what his future might be. That allows him to put his feelings in a box and close the lid on himself in some way.”
Jamie killed Katie because of a combination of factors, including his “lack of self-esteem, perceived bullying at school, and access to online incel propaganda,” according to Tudum.
Jamie tells Briony that he asked Katie out after a topless photo of her was sent among classmates on Snapchat as an act of revenge porn. But Katie rejected him and later sent emojis mocking him for asking. However, it’s after she publicly called him an incel on Instagram that pushes him over the edge. He stabs her shortly after.
What Happens To Jamie And His Family?
The final episode of Adolescence doesn’t show Jamie’s trial or reveal his sentencing. However, the teen’s decision to plead guilty strongly implies that he will serve a life sentence in prison.
As for the Miller family, Episode 4 focuses on their struggle to navigate life after Jamie is charged with murder. They consider leaving town for a fresh start, but Eddie opposes the idea. Their daughter, Lisa, also believes that moving would only make things worse.
After Jamie admits his guilty plea, Eddie and Manda have a heartfelt conversation about where they went wrong. Manda raises questions about Jamie’s temper and regrets not monitoring his computer usage more closely, while Eddie is still traumatized by the CCTV footage of the murder.
In the final scene, Eddie steps into Jamie’s untouched room and breaks down, burying his face in his son’s pillow. He apologizes to Jamie’s teddy bear, a symbolic stand-in for his son. “I’m sorry son, I should’ve done better,” he says.
Graham revealed that the writers always intended for the story to end in that room. “We wanted the journey to finish where it began,” he said.
What is the secret meaning of the ending of Adolescence?
The final episode of Adolescence sees Jamie admit that he did kill Katie and tells his dad that he will plead guilty. The fourth episode closes out with an emotional rendition “Through the Eyes of a Child”, sang by Aurora, which describes the loss of a ‘childlike soul.’ The haunting track is the first and only time that viewers hear Katie’s voice in the series.
Speaking in an interview with Netflix’s Tudum, show director Philip Barantini revealed he heard the song around the time Jack sent him the script and knew it needed to be in the series.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It’s just absolutely incredible,” he explained. “The voice in the score is Katie’s voice. Katie is a part of the whole series. Her presence is always there.”
Will there be a sequel to Adolescence?
No, according to multiple sources, Adolescence is only a limited series, meaning it is a four-part miniseries and there will be no season 2 or additional episodes.
All four episodes of Adolescence are streaming now on Netflix. Watch the official trailer below.
