Adolescence: The Netflix drama that will have every parent talking - Join our watch thread plus Q&A with producer and cast

[CeriMumsnet]

Premieres 13th March 2025

Read Hannah and Christine's answers to your questions here.

If you’re after a gripping new series to get stuck into, Adolescence is set to be the show of the year - and it’s one that will chill parents to the core. This tense British crime drama begins with the shocking arrest of 13-year-old Jamie Miller for the murder of a classmate. But as the investigation unfolds, the series delves into the unsettling realities of modern masculinity, online radicalisation, and the pressures facing today’s teenagers.

Filmed in South Kirby with a raw, unflinching realism, Adolescence isn’t just another crime drama - it’s a conversation starter. If you were lucky enough to catch the Mumsnet exclusive preview, you’ll know just how haunting and thought-provoking it is, with themes that resonate long after you finish watching.

Watch the trailer here:

Q&A
Adolescence Executive Producer Hannah Walters and actress Christine Tremarco who plays Jamie’s Mum will be joining us for a Q&A in the next couple of weeks, so make sure to share your questions about the show for them below.

• Hannah Walters is an actress, producer and co-founder of Matriarch Productions, an entertainment production company who aims to provide a much-needed platform for underrepresented voices and stories in the UK. Their credits include BOILING POINT (2021) and most recent TV series for the BBC. Hannah has two children with her husband Stephen Graham.

• Christine Tremarco is a British actress who along with playing Jamie’s Mum in Adolescence can also currently be seen in Channel 4’s drama series, The Gathering and in the BBC’s Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story, directed by Al Mackay. Other screen credits include the BBC’s Responder opposite Martin Freeman, a series regular in Sky’s Wolfe, and Shane Meadows’ BAFTA winning series The Virtues opposite Stephen Graham.

So, what do we think? Will you be watching? Does the premise resonate with you? Let’s chat below! 👇

Watched it all in one sitting last night. Relentlessly grim and very challenging to watch, but my God, what a masterclass in acting from all involved - with particular mention for the performances of Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper. Such a magnificent achievement in television-making.

I don't have kids, but imagine watching this series would put the fear of God into parents everywhere with teenagers.

In the first episode (unless I missed it!), I noted the absence of anyone in the family asking WHO Jamie was being arrested for killing. Even in the police station prior to the recorded interview.

I appreciate anyone in that situation would be going out of their minds with panic and confusion, but the omission of "So who am I/he supposed to have killed then??" did strike me as an oversight.

Yes absolutely agree with you!

We watched 3 episodes last night. Completely immersed in the show. That it felt like it was being done in real time made it more intense. The acting is superb in it especially that of Jamie in episode 3. Best thing on tv so far.

Edit : Spelling

Wow, an absolutely incredible series. It blew my mind. The acting is phenomenal. The last episode took me on an emotional roller-coaster and for the last 10 minutes of the episode I cried so deeply.

It will open up lots of conversations and discussions with my children's Dad about educating ourselves and protecting and keeping them safe online with social media and limiting screen time.

A hard compelling watch that is very thought provoking

Completely agree - I can't believe he did that in one hour long take. Phenomenal.

I enjoyed the first episode. But would there really be that many armed police arriving to arrest a 13 year old? I thought it was a bit OTT, and shouldn't he have also been accompanied?

My daughter has just turned 13 and the first thing I thought was "Are there really 13 year olds out at 10.30 at night"? 😯

I started watching quite late last night and had to force myself to go to bed after Episide 2 or I'd never have got up this morning.

It has completely gripped me, and I am looking forward to watching the rest

It didn’t seem OTT to me that they’d send armed police, given the seriousness of the crime. He had an appropriate adult at all times, which is the legal requirement. Bear in mind, they weren’t to know what the situation in the house was like, what the family might know and where a weapon might be. And there is another child in the family (a female one).

I wondered that too. I was thinking back to a similar but real life case in Ireland and the arrest was very low key. They asked him to voluntarily come to the station basically.

Surely they would just knock on the door fist and see if everyone was co-operative. Do they not even see if someone will open the door voluntarily first.

Excellent scene though, really captured the disorientation.

10:30pm?! I was saying to my OH why is a 13 year old out at 8:30pm!!! 😂😂

I've honestly not stopped thinking about it. Husband is the same. Going to binge the last 3 episodes tonight.

I'm sure the CCTV of the murder was around 10.30 and she was found an hour later?

The first ten minutes have made me feel completely sick to my stomach … as a parent .. all the feelings ! Gripped already

Oh. I thought the Police said he went out at 8:30 hung out with his mates and then was following the girl from about 9:30pm. Could be wrong tho.

Owen Cooper was only 14 when this was filmed so this is really an incredible performance.

These days, there are a lot of regulations around young actors so I'm sure he was well taken care of during filming. I read somewhere that there was a psychiatrist on set but when she looked for him to check up on him he was playing swing ball instead! So hopefully he hasn't been too traumatised by the role!

I agree that it would’ve been interesting to see more of the effect on Katie’s family. But I thought the last episode was so emotional and important to show.
Jamie did something horrendous, and it’s affected his whole family. Not to take away from the horror of what Katie’s family is going through, but I think we often overlook the impact on the perpetrator’s family. What was so powerful here is that Jamie’s family was clearly a loving, normal family who now have to live with the consequences of his actions and personally I don’t think they deserve that.

It just really makes you think about where responsibility begins and ends. Are we actually responsible for our children’s actions? To what extent? It’s such a difficult concept to wrap your head around. You think you know someone (your mum, your brother, your husband) and then they do something completely out of character, and it’s so confusing, this is on another level! When it’s your child, someone you’ve raised and shaped, it’s even more of a mindfuck

Oh my god.
Wow.
OK.
So just finishing up ep.2.
Incredible and so thought provoking.
But in some ways, for me as a parent with a DC who has just started secondary school, perhaps the most shocking and eye opening thing to take away is just how little I know about the nuances of SM.
When Adam debriefed his dad on all those symbols and their meanings, I was like 🤯
Watched it all holding my breath for the most part.
Will need a break before I watch the next 2 episodes I think.

It was filmed where I live they used dds school and her and her friends are in it as extras in the school episode. It's odd seeing the streets i walk on tv.

Binged it. Loved it. Honestly, the whole series made me think so much more deeply than I expected from a tv show. I have one DS who’s still in primary school. I’m aware of incels/Andrew Tate from the news but I’ve naively never really thought it affected me much / my son is young (which honestly is probably not great of me). But this show really felt like a wake up call that I need to start paying more attention now.

If I could ask Hannah Walters one thing, it would be: What made you want to bring this story to life? What was it that really spoke to you, and how did you make sure it hit all the right notes and didn’t miss the point?

And to Christine Tremarco: how did it affect you play Jamie’s mum? Because you played it so beautifully. I really felt like I was watching a mum just trying to keep her head above water, keeping your husband and daughter happy, trying to hold it all together

I was listening to Stephen Graham and the actress that plays the psychologist in E 3 on R4 yesterday, being interviewd; I think, and I may be wrong, that they interviewed about 500 boys for the role, and that he is an unknown, someone sent in a video of him.

I thought it was fantastic. I binged it all yesterday.

Spoiler:
Episode 3 was the stand up out for me. The scenes between the woman and the boy were just outstanding. The last ten minutes broke my heart. So much emotional complexity with the two opposing sides of the pair - her professional and cold, then watching her heart break a little whenever she was alone, the boy appearing very young and vulnerable and then scarily adult.

Those were award winning performances in my opinion.

I also considered should the victims family been shown more. But weighing it up that’s not what the show was about. It would obviously be completely different if it was based on a true story but this was the story of ordinary loving parents who thought their son was safe in his bedroom.

It made me want more, specifically in the form of a second series about the same event but entirely focused on the victim’s family, shot in the same way. There was so much left unsaid (for example, why did Jade think they wouldn’t want to see her?). I would love to see an entire arc with no appearance by Jamie, only similarly strong actors playing Katie’s family. For me that would be just as interesting.