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! 👇

I would also like to see that

Wow - what a hard hitting drama, we're completely gripped! Great to read all your thoughts and reactions so far - keep them coming!

In episode 1, Jamie keeps repeating he's done nothing wrong, what do you think he means by that? I couldn't work it out. Also one of the things that struck me is how 'normal' Jamie's family appear. What do you think is the significance of this?

Don't forget to also share any questions you have for Hannah (Adolescence producer) and Christine (who plays Jamie's Mum). Their insight and experience of the making of the show will be really interesting.

DH & I have watched all episodes - spoiler alter for anyone who hasn't finished it all...

We both found it very hard to watch, our DS is older but still it hits home and just a really horrible situation to watch unfolding. The acting from everyone is first class and although I'd have loved to learn more about the facts of the 'case' and the trial and the victim and her family etc etc. I agree that the subject really is the impact this has on the offender's family in particular the parents.

However... I felt in that last episode we got a glimpse into the upbringing Jamie had and it seemed to have been quite 'hands-off' from a discipline and oversight perspective. I think the mum was trying to broach this, saying 'we made him' and talking about the things they let slide - the light under his bedroom door at 1am when he had school the next day, how he went from being engaged in activities like football or art to just being in his room on the computer all the time. The dad seemed to want to absolve himself of any responsibility saying things like "sure we weren't to know what he was looking at on his phone or his computer!" and "he was probably in there looking at porn, as they do" - they were talking about Jamie when he was younger and he'd offended at 13 so presumably they were referring to him being maybe 11-12? We're not perfect parents by any stretch (and nor is our DS a perfect boy) but at that age our child's phone and console remote was taken out of the room at night, every night so that he got to bed at decent hour. We had parental controls set up on his phone. We checked it regularly. We spoke to him about porn and consent and the dangers of putting yourself online/social media etc. It seemed to me that Jamie's parents did none of that and so they do have to take some responsibility for how he turned out.

I found the whole thing quite depressing, particuarly the school scenes it was total carnage with no respect for teachers and just made me feel quite hopeless for the future. It's the sort of programme that stays with you, I'm still thinking about it long after watching.

I don’t have a question, I just want to say a massive, massive congratulations to Christine (you were amazing!) and Hannah because I think this is flat-out the best thing I’ve ever seen on TV. My partner keeps popping his head around the door and saying ‘another thing…’ and he doesn’t even have to specify that he’s talking about Adolescence because neither of us can think about anything else at the moment. Astonishing. You’re going to win ALL the awards, you know that right?

Spoilers:

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My thought was that it took Jamie a long time to admit to himself in his head that it wasn't a mistake or an accident. I felt that was linked in to the family being normal - they were all swept up in an external force. It felt like society was much to blame for continually tripping them up.

Personally, I found it very hard to feel anything except sorry for Jamie. It was probably because he reminded me of my own younger DS - it's hard as a parent to watch a boy go through that without thinking of your own child. I didn't want to believe he had done it. I also desperately wanted the psychologist to say that she liked him.

I was interested in how many failed rushes there were before getting this perfect in one go, if anyone can answer that? The filming must have been absolutely hectic.

interesting story line
great acting by the youngster members of the cast
Erin Doherty was fantastic as the main character in episode 3.

interested to know about the r behind the scenes while the camera is rolling.

also how did they do the drone shot so seamlessly?

God I just finished. Been a while since I sat sobbing at the end. But I did! It was very sad 😢

Bravo for the acting. Really great job 👏

Absolutely stunning production. I loved Boiling Point and the single take idea, although I imagine that was much easier as it all took place in a restaurant!

The acting was top notch and brilliant casting. Like a pp, I had no idea just how serious the incel/Andrew Tate stuff is. I was aware of it but thought it only affected a small minority of children. How terrifying to see how mainstream it's become.

This is compelling, heart rending, important television. Well done to all for getting this made.

Really applaud the subject matter - that this can happen to ordinary teens and families. The complexities and not shying from the ugly behaviour, aggression and defiance that teens can be capable of (whilst being so vulnerable).

Social media has decimated the world in so many ways and given extremists an unregulated platform to exploit the vulnerable. Every tech mogul responsible should be prosecuted for human rights abuses.

Skipped throughout the whole series ( home sick) very woke anti white, script is awful, wasted on some good actors, long drawn out not very real, school & teachers presented as incompetent idiots in charge of chaotic school & out of control children,
i thought it was an appalling representation of British people & life. Couldn't watch ending so bored!

I was disappointed overall. Episode three was the best of the four episodes.

Really enjoyed episode 1 & 2. Found 3 & 4 not as good. Also I didn’t really understand what his motive was, don’t think it was made clear.
Superb acting throughout.

The young boy in this is absolutely brilliant just the right levels of seemingly innocent but also slightly sinister - on Episode 3 now

@EndthisshitWhat specifically made you think it was anti-white? Part of what I liked about it was that I felt it wasn’t overly woke (unlike a lot of Netflix offerings). Considering it again now, it didn’t seem to me that the non white characters were idealised or portrayed as better than the white characters. In fact, I liked the tiny glimpses we had of how flawed and difficult their lives evidently were too. I thought the show did a good job of unpicking the idea that being a good and enlightened person is about saying the right things and hitting the right notes (like in ep 3 when he is frustrated by the fact that she won’t push back on what he says at the expected moments). I don’t mean it’s anti woke in the political sense, but it didn’t seem aggressively woke as a mindset (knowing how narrow that view often is).

I agree with @verysmellyjelly ^

I also think the school scenes were portrayed so well, the one shot perspective made it all seem so overwhelming (which I find big groups of teens at the best of times 😅) but a lot of schools are like that. And unfortunately some teachers just are that incompetent - this is from personal experience and hearing from teacher friends. I think it adds to the issue that there’s only so much schools can do, especially when everything is online now

Absolutely the best thing I have ever seen on my TV. 👏

I think the actors did an amazing job but I found it drawn out and without depth tbh.
Although drawn out it also felt rushed.

Fantastic, I watched all episodes today.
Ashley waters and Stephen Graham, are fantastic as usual, and the young lad who plays Jamie is so believable and it's his first tv role.
The story is a tale too common today and gave me a real chill.

@Endthisshit
How on earth was it anti white? Are you sure you watched the same programme?
Sadly, it does represent many areas in the UK today.

Just finished the whole thing....wow. Best thing I've seen in ages. Hard-hitting and amazing acting. Stephen Graham,well he can do no wrong. The boy who played Jamie? He's one to look out for. Brilliant.

I finished watching it yesterday, and as a number of posters have said, it stayed with me for the rest of the day. The school scenes were done well and the fact that the two police officers compared with their own days, not idyllic but not like this zoo, was telling.

The point about parenting I thought was not that they were bad parents, but what parents don't know about the world their children live in. The police officer didn't know the meanings of symbols on Insta, nor how shit his son's school was.

For context, I'm 70 and had a working class upbringing. Did I tell my parents what I got up to? Never. The online world has made it even more private.

The title does it: "Adolescence". It could be the name of another planet.

It portrayed a realistic side of British life which is indeed appalling.

People who can't see how realistic it is are part of the problem.

People who accept that some elements of society have complex and difficult issues are part of the solution. Nothing can be improved until the issues are well understood.

Completely agree with you @echt! I don’t blame the parents at all in this. No matter how much you try, you can’t be there all the time to monitor what your kids are listening to or talking about or even doing. And I think anyone who says they know everything about their kids is being a bit naive.
I wasn’t a particularly rebellious teen in the 00s (far from it actually) but there were definitely things I didn’t tell my parents. First taste of alcohol (blue WKD obviously) first cigarette, sneaking off to a house party at a friend of a friends, or who I was chatting to on MSN Messenger.

I think Jamie’s parents did the best they could. Could they have done more? Maybe. But we just will never know. And you see that contrast with his sister, who’s sensible and grounded. Same family, same upbringing, but such a different outcome.

I love Stephen graham so was looking forward to watching this but to my shock I didn't like it. I didn't think the acting was that good, a lot of following the characters walking around, not much depth into the incel storyline. I think it's a good talking point with teens but I think it's been over hyped unfortunately

The parents came across as naive to me. Totally believable, though, as so many of us don't truly grasp the horrors of online culture.

Episode 3 was the eye opener in many ways and we saw how awful Jamie actually was when he didn't get his own way: I watched it wondering if he'd have shouted and been so vile to a man. He gloated when the thought he saw the psychologist's fear of him. We also saw how dismissive he was of his mother & sister in the van in the final episode - it seemed that only men were worth his time.

I was a bit perturbed by the psychologist asking him if he liked/was attracted to women when he was only 13 or 14. That just sounded creepy and wrong.

The Liverpudlian accents were sometimes hard to understand.