'Adolescence' Is Difficult in Netflix's First Images
Netflix announced it had signed a deal with Stephen Graham for his next "real-time, continuous take" series not long after the streaming service picked up Boiling Point, the four-part series based on the pandemic hit film of the same name. It was part of a slew of announcements in the spring of 2024 for the planned upcoming series in 2025; the topline was Stephen Knight's House of Guinness, which tended to dominate the coverage. However, Graham's experimental real-time single-shot series, titled Adolescence, marked it as Netflix's next major prestige event.
Like Boiling Point, the series takes a generic formula familiar to viewers and gives it a fresh spin. It takes a formula usually reserved for crime thrillers and suspense series like Idris Elba's Hijack and applies it to more mundane (but still high-stress) situations. Using the formula for situations that aren't as life-threatening, like the busy hours of a kitchen in a high-end restaurant or, in this case, the arrest of a young man accused of killing a classmate, brings an immediacy to the character's responses and emotional roller coaster.
Graham has also assembled a roster of prestigious talent for the series, ensuring everyone can handle the pressure, even though the four-part Adolescence is shot more like a stage production than a television series.
