Netflix’s Adolescence is a crime thriller of extraordinary power and rare insight, transforming into something completely unexpected by the final moments of its heartbreaking finale. The scene, anchored by a towering performance of vulnerability from the great Stephen Graham, hits with the force of a wrecking ball, leaving you shattered.
Yet, somehow, the sequence manages to piece the viewer back together. Graham, simply put, is a revelation. He is outstanding in this year’s Hulu series A Thousand Blows, embodying a powder keg of intensity — wavering between rage and tenderness — yet deeply wounded and achingly human.
I’m confident you won’t see a better performance all year.
Netflix’s Adolescence Review and Synopsis
The story follows young Jamie Miller (played by newcomer Owen Cooper, extraordinary here), a 13-year-old who is about to be arrested for the murder of his teenage classmate. The victim, by all accounts, was an innocent young girl who was brutally stabbed multiple times and left for dead.
Detective Inspector Luke Bascombe (Top Boy’s Ashley Walters) and Detective Sergeant Misha Frank (Andor’s Faye Marsay) carry out the arrest early in the morning, breaking down the door and taking Jamie into custody. His family, including his father, Eddie (Graham), can only watch as warrants are thrown in their faces and splinters from their front door scatter at their feet.
As Jamie is taken into the station in a riveting real-time, one-shot opening episode, his family follows him. He is assigned a court-appointed solicitor (Happy Valley’s Mark Stanley) to represent him, convincing Eddie that his son needs an “appropriate adult” throughout the investigation process.
Stephen Graham Gives a Towering Performance of Unwavering Vulnerability in Netflix’s Adolescence!
Netflix’s Adolescence is the most ambitious series you will see all year. Each episode unfolds in a breathtaking real-time, one-shot format with no visible cuts to the action. The dialogue crackles, building suspense and making every moment enthralling — especially in episode three, which features a terrific Erin Doherty as a clinical psychologist assigned to evaluate Jamie. The scenes between the newcomer Cooper and the Doherty are breathtaking to behold.
The writing presents the story as unfolding in real time, with no time jumps or edits within a single chapter, appearing to be filmed in a single, uninterrupted take — a feat you’ll come to appreciate after fully absorbing the series. For example, the pilot, in particular, drops you into the middle of what it is like to be arrested by the police and the battle of wills that ensues.
Of course, this leads up to the episode’s devastating conclusion, as it does in episodes three and four. However, the second chapter takes a different approach, with Walters’s character’s investigation giving the crime a different shade than the pilot. The writing is so strong here that it sneaks up on you later, revealing the moments when fatherhood matters most.
Is Netflix’s Adolescence Worth Watching?
Netflix’s Adolescence is not only worth watching but is one of the year’s very best series, limited or ongoing. Created by Graham and Jack Thorne (Wonder, Enola Holmes, Toxic Town), the final episode is so beautifully done, you’ll be taken back by its raw honesty and knowing the path to healing is through resilience.
Graham is stunning here, along with his scenes with Christine Tremarco, who plays his wife and mother to Jamie, rival what we have seen in films like In the Bedroom and Manchester by the Sea. The finale leads up to this moment that takes an extraordinary moment of restrained grief into something therapeutic and real. However, the interactions still cut deep, as if pain is the only way to heal.
Adolescence is the type of thriller that hits home more than most — thrilling yet working on another level as an emotionally devastating character study. Graham and Thorne’s stunner of a series is immersive and powerful. Sit back, surrender to it, and see what type of person you are as you come out the other side.
All four episodes of Adolescence were screened for this review. You can stream this series only on Netflix starting March 13!
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