The reviews are in: Adolescence is one of the best shows of 2025 so far. The New York Times‘ Margaret Lyons called an episode “one of the more fascinating hours of TV I’ve seen in a long time,” while Rolling Stone‘s Alan Sepinwall raved, “But in what Adolescence has to say, and in how eloquently and audaciously it says it, it’s also among the very best things — and an early contender for the best thing — you will see on the small screen this year.”
But what is the Netflix show about?
Here’s everything to know about Adolescence, including plot details, the cast, and the premiere date.
Plot
Adolescence is a rewarding watch, but not an easy one.
Created by Jack Thorne and Peaky Blinders favorite Stephen Graham, the limited series is about a 13-year-old boy who is arrested for the murder of a teenage girl who goes to his school. “We could have made a drama about gangs and knife crime, or about a kid whose mother is an alcoholic or whose father is a violent abuser,” Graham told Tudum. “Instead, we wanted you to look at this family and think, ‘My God. This could be happening to us!’ And what’s happening here is an ordinary family’s worst nightmare.”
Every episode is told in one continuous shot, so there’s little relief from the tragic subject material. “Without sounding pretentious, it’s the marriage of both mediums,” Graham explained to The Hollywood Reporter about the “oner” approach. “Technically, it’s a play, and we’re playing to the camera. We spent a whole week [for each episode] rehearsing as actors with [director Philip Barantini], and we went through every beat, through every moment, piece by piece by piece by piece. We dissected the script, which is beautifully written by Jack Thorne. And you just immerse yourself in that character.”
Here’s what Barantini had to say about filming the episodes:
“Basically, that means we press record on the camera and we don’t press stop until the very end of the hour. But it’s much more complicated… It takes months of preparation and weeks of rehearsals and an incredible team of people to pull it off at every stage, from the script to the locations to the production design to where exactly the camera is going to be able to shoot and from what angle.”
Adolescence is more than its gimmick, though. It’s an “astonishing” show.
Cast
The cast for Adolescence includes Owen Cooper as accused murderer Jamie Miller; Stephen Graham as Jamie’s father, Eddie; Ashley Walters as Detective Inspector Luke Bascombe; Erin Doherty as clinical psychologist Briony Ariston; Faye Marsay; Christine Tremarco; Mark Stanley; Jo Hartley; and Amélie Pease.
Release Date
All four episodes of Adolescence premiere on Netflix on March 13.
Trailer
Check out the trailer for Adolescence below.