Adolescence Netflix release date confirmed for powerful one-shot Stephen Graham drama

The story follows the aftermath of a 13-year-old, Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), being arrested for the murder of a teenage girl who goes to his school.

Graham plays Jamie’s father Eddie, while Ashley Walters plays the Detective Inspector in charge of the case, Luke Bascombe.

Meanwhile, Erin Doherty plays Briony Ariston, the clinical psychologist assigned to Jamie’s case.

Graham spoke during a Q&A at this year's Next on Netflix event earlier this week, and revealed where he got the idea for the series, on which he is an executive producer.

"The idea came as – over the past 10 years or so – we’ve seen an epidemic of knife crime amongst young lads, up and down the country," Graham said. "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.

"When I mentioned it to Phil, it just really hit me hard. I just thought, 'Why? What's going on? What's happening? Why is this the case?'

"What's going on with our society as a whole, as a collective, and without being disrespectful, when these things are on the news – and we’re a couple of kids from council estates – but when these things are on the news, your judgement instantly goes to blaming the family, you blame the mum and dad.

"We’re all guilty of it, because that's the easy common denominator. I just thought, ‘what if that's not the case at all?’"

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Meanwhile, Barantini spoke about the structure of the series and the way it is filmed, with each episode being shot entirely in one take.

"First and foremost, we never wanted it to be at the front and centre," he explained. "It's not like, ‘oh, look how clever we are by doing this one take thing’. It has to be an immersive feeling, and sort of a subconscious feeling that you're taking the audience on a journey where they can't take their eyes off the screen.

"We're all guilty of watching stuff with one eye on our phones, but for something like this, it's so compulsive, that you can't miss a beat.

"And that's the idea, that it adds to the tension and to the anxiety, which is an immersive experience for the actors as well. You get the best performance because they're in it. They’re living it. And there's no cuts at all, so for one hour you have to be in character."

Adolescence is coming to Netflix on 13th March 2025. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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