Adolescence: First Look At Stephen Graham In Intense One-Shot Drama

If the intensity of one-shot film Boiling Point upped your stress levels (in a good way), you won’t want to miss this upcoming drama also starring Stephen Graham. From the same team comes Adolescence, a real-time, one-shot crime drama coming to Netflix in March. Here’s everything to know before it lands.

Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller in Adolescence. (Courtesy of Netflix © 2024)

Adolescence: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

In March 2024, Netflix UK teased it was working on a crime drama with the creators of Boiling Point, told in real-time and also one shot – so expect the intensity to be high. Bodies star Stephen Graham is on the writing team alongside Jack Thorne, with Philip Barantini directing.

NEWS: Stephen Graham, Ashley Walters and Erin Doherty will star in Netflix’s new one-shot crime drama Adolescence (working title). pic.twitter.com/X1ziKifHgr

— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) July 22, 2024

(L to R) Ashley Walters as Detective Inspector Bascombe, Faye Marsay as Detective Sergeant Frank, in Adolescence. (Courtesy of Ben Blackall/Netflix © 2024)

What Is Adolescence About?

Adolescence centres on 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) whose life – and the life of his family – is turned upside down when he is arrested and charged with the murder of a teenage girl he goes to school with. Across four episodes, filmed in one-shot and told in real time, we will see the impact on Jamie’s father, Eddie Miller (Stephen Graham) as Detective Inspector Bascombe (Ashley Walters) delves into the case, and clinical psychologist Briony Ariston (Erin Doherty) explores Jamie’s mind.

‘We could have made a drama about gangs and knife crime, or about a kid whose mother is an alcoholic or whose father is a violent abuser,’ Graham tells Netflix. ‘Instead, we wanted you to look at this family and think, “My God. This could be happening to us!” And what’s happening here is an ordinary family’s worst nightmare.

‘One of our aims was to ask, “What is happening to our young men these days, and what are the pressures they face from their peers, from the internet, and from social media?”,’ Graham adds. ‘And the pressures that come from all of those things are as difficult for kids here as they are the world over.’

The one-shot element ups the ante, with the events unfolding in real time. But how does it work? ‘Basically, [‘filmed in one continuous shot’] means we press record on the camera and we don’t press stop until the very end of the hour,’ director Philip Barantini says. ‘But it’s much more complicated than it sounds. It takes months of preparation and weeks of rehearsals and an incredible team of people to pull it off at every stage, from the script to the locations to the production design to where exactly the camera is going to be able to shoot and from what angle.’

Adolescence Trailer

Who Will Star?

• Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller, a 13-year-old arrested for murder
• Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller, Jamie’s father
• Ashley Walters as DI Luke Bascombe
• Erin Doherty as Briony Ariston, a clinical psychologist assigned to Jamie’s case
• Faye Marsay as DS Misha Frank
• Christine Tremarco as Manda Miller
• Mark Stanley as Paul Barlow
• Jo Hartley
• Amélie Pease
• Lil Charva

(L to R) Erin Doherty as Briony Ariston, Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller in Adolescence. (Courtesy of Ben Blackall/Netflix © 2024)

Where Was Adolescence Filmed?

Adolescence is set in Sheffield, and it was also filmed there. Other filming locations include fellow Yorkshire towns South Elmsall and South Kirby, specifically at Production Park, a large studio complex where sets can be built and filmed on. We expect lots of the interiors (police interview rooms, schools, etc.) to have been filmed here.

Release Date

All four episodes of Adolescence will land on Netflix on 13 March 2025.