Adolescence hailed as ‘best Netflix show since Baby Reindeer’

The psychological thriller Adolescence is the brainchild of Stephen Graham, who stars as the father of a 13-year old boy, Jamie Miller, played by Owen Cooper, who is accused of murdering a schoolgirl.

It has a perfect 100% Rotten Apples score and has been hailed as the best Netflix series since Baby Reindeer.

The psychological thriller Adolescence is the brainchild of Stephen Graham who stars as the father of a 13-year old boy, Jamie Miller, played by Owen Cooper, who is accused of murdering a schoolgirl.

Top Boy actor Ashley Walters takes on the role of DI Luke Bascombe in the critically acclaimed four-part production, uniquely shot in nearly hour-long continuous single takes.

The outstanding rating on review website Rotten Tomatoes has come from fans and critics praising the realistic portrayal of British society.

In the US, the Globe and Mail said: “Netflix’s new miniseries Adolescence will terrify parents – and is the streamer’s best since Baby Reindeer.”

In the UK, Empire has described Adolescence as “nothing short of extraordinary”, going on to say, “Adolescence is a triumph of creative and technical artistry where the ‘gimmick’ at hand elevates it to one of the year’s finest.”

Some have also compared it with Netflix’s 2024 triumph Baby Reindeer, which was written by Scottish comedian Richard Gadd about an alleged stalker.

Graham has revealed the idea for his drama came about as he read headlines about the knife crime epidemic in the UK. He said: “I read an article about a young boy stabbing a young girl,” he said. “And then maybe a couple of months later, on the news there was a young boy who’d stabbed a young girl, and if I’m really honest with you, they hurt my heart.”

Viewer have flooded social media with their thoughts on the TV show.

One posted: “By far one of the best British drama series I have ever watched it was such a good representation a British family culture. Absolutely gripping, I couldn’t keep my eyes away from the TV.”

Another fan took to X, formerly Twitter, to say: “Highly recommend #adolescence starting today on @netflix. Compelling storyline, excellent cast, shot in real-time one-take eps – especially stressful plot/themes when my son turns 13 today. Must-see TV.”

Graham, meanwhile, has issued a warning to parents about the dangers of the internet.

He explained that the storyline explores a complexity of topics, and that parents need to be “mindful” of the external influences working on their children.

“It’s just being mindful of the fact that not only we parent our children, and not only the school educates our children,” he said. “But also there’s influences that we have no idea of that are having profound effects on our young culture, profound effects, positive and extremely negative. So it’s having a look at that and seeing that we’re all accountable.”

He added: “The four-part drama, he says, doesn’t have the answer but instead holds a mirror up to society asking how can the growing presence of incel culture be quashed?

“You look at it and you see that we’re kind of all accountable to an extent. There’s failings within the school system, there’s situations where the education system can look at this, look at what’s happened with that kind of rise in these misogynistic tendencies.

“The society as a whole can look at this, parents obviously can look at this, and the government in many ways.”

Derived from the phrase “involuntarily celibate”, incel culture in its simplest form is someone who deems themselves unable to find a romantic partner despite desiring one.

A more radicalised sub-culture of incels has surfaced online in recent years which includes individuals who dislike feminism and believe that women have become too sexually selective.

They believe men are the superior sex and men have the right to objectify and criticise women as a result.

Influencers like Andrew Tate have been connected to the growing corner of the internet in which young boys are being radicalised from the certain viewpoint.

A controversial online presence in recent years, Tate, 38, is facing allegations of trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering, alongside his brother Tristan. Both have strongly denied the charges.

All episodes of Adolescence are available to stream on Netflix now.