Netflix Adolescence: This new Stephen Graham drama is every family’s worst nightmare

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Stephen Graham’s ‘harrowing’ new TV show airs today, telling the story of an ordinary family’s ‘worst nightmare’ in one continuous shot.

A four-part limited series, Adolescence sees teenager Jamie Miller, played by Owen Cooper, accused of murdering a teenage girl. The griping story unfolds in real time, and Graham plays Jamie’s father, Eddie Miller.

Co-written by Graham, who also stars in the newly released series A Thousand Blows, the psychological drama sees Jamie’s family and police detectives search for answers in the wake of the shocking tragedy.

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“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 told Netflix. “And the pressures that come from all of those things are as difficult for kids here as they are the world over.”

The Kirkby-born star continued: “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. 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.”

Netflix Adolescence cast

  • Owen Cooper as accused teenage murderer Jamie Miller
  • Adolescence co-creator Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller, Jamie’s father
  • Ashley Walters (Top Boy) as Detective Inspector Luke Bascombe
  • Erin Doherty (The Crown) as Briony Ariston, the clinical psychologist assigned to Jamie’s case
  • Faye Marsay (Game of Thrones)
  • Christine Tremarco (The Responder)
  • Mark Stanley (Happy Valley)
  • Jo Hartley (After Life)
  • Amélie Pease

All four episodes of Adolescence will be available to watch on Netflix from 8.00am on March 13, 2025. More details can be found here.

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