It’s been hailed as the most important drama you’ll watch all year, and there is no denying Netflix’s Adolescence is essential viewing. The four-part limited series, which was the number one show on the streamer in 71 countries following its March 13 premiere, has resonated deeply with viewers concerned about the influence of social media on young people and its links to violent crime.
Written by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, the series follows 13-year-old Jamie Miller – played by the scene-stealing Owen Cooper in his debut role – from the moment he is arrested for the murder of his schoolmate. Each episode was filmed in one unflinching take, with viewers watching the immediate aftermath of Jamie’s arrest, the search for answers as detectives investigate and the fallout for his family.
For co-writer and star Graham, who plays family patriarch Eddie Miller, the idea for the series sparked from a series of knife attacks in the UK that were carried out by young men. “When I hear these things on the news, I know I’m not alone in blaming the parents sometimes,” the actor, 51, told Rolling Stone magazine. “And then I thought to myself, ‘What if it’s not the parents?’”
In terms of Jamie’s parents, Graham had strong ideas about what type of people they should be.
“I wanted the dad to be a hardworking man, the kind of man that I was brought up with, like my uncles and my dad, who used to go to work at, like, six in the morning and not get home till eight at night, Monday to Friday. I didn’t want him to be a violent dad who would raise his hand to his children,” Graham continued. “It’s the same for the mum, too – we imagined her as a manager for [department store] John Lewis. Let’s take all of those normal common denominators away from the table, and let’s just concentrate on something that’s happened with the boy here.”
That something turns out to be one of the timeliest of issues facing society today – a growing wave of young men radicalised in their bedrooms by violent misogyny and influenced by Andrew Tate-esque figures lurking in the darkest corners of the internet.
“I was looking online at a workout thing that [my son] Alfie sent me, and it was a good workout. Three or four days later, the algorithm – which I don’t understand – showed me the same gentleman again, and he was telling me his misogynistic opinions and views,” Graham recalled to Rolling Stone of his first experience with the online subculture incels.
“I was able to say, ‘Yeah, that’s not for me,’ but what if I was a 13-year-old boy who didn’t really have an ideal relationship with my father, and all of a sudden I’m seeing this man who has everything I aspire to have – a fancy car and loads of money – this man who is everything I, maybe, aspire to be,” he added. “If you’re influencing the youth with your own views and opinions, then surely you know that we need to be mindful of what’s being said?”
The series also hammers home the terrifying truth that this could happen to any family. In one scene, some seemingly innocuous emojis are revealed to contain hidden messages, highlighting that parents can easily misunderstand what’s truly going on. “What the show did really well was to remind parents that on the surface, you might think you see X, but maybe Y is happening,” Monash University professor Steven Roberts told the Australian Financial Review.
Combining that uncontrolled access to online propaganda with bullying and a lack of self-esteem – as seen in a stirring scene with Jamie and forensic psychologist Briony (played by Erin Doherty) – proves a deadly mixture in Adolescence. At its core, the show ultimately acts as a call to action.
“You know that beautiful saying it takes a village to raise a child? Well, in a way, I think we’re all slightly accountable from the side of the parenting, the school, the political structure, society itself, and then what we didn’t have when we were kids: social media, the influence of social media, phones,” Graham explained on UK’s This Morning. “They parent our kids just as much as we do today. And we’re not pointing the finger specifically at any one thing. We’re just saying, ‘Let’s talk about this. Let’s bring this into our awareness.’”
While Adolescence does leave viewers with a raft of questions and concerns, that’s exactly what Graham hopes will force parents to sit up and take stock. “I’m very proud to have been a part of it,” he noted to Rolling Stone. “I just hope it can raise some extremely important conversations.”
