The Controversy Over Netflix’s Megahit New Show Is Even More Intense Here in the U.K.

It sometimes happens that a random British TV show will suddenly shoot to enormous, worldwide acclaim without a big publicity campaign to push it there, instead driven primarily by word of mouth. The best example of this is 2024’s Baby Reindeer, which became a hit and sparked real-life twists and turns to rival those within the series itself. The latest example, Adolescence, has seen success on a different scale, though. The four-part drama, about a 13-year-old boy named Jamie who is arrested for murdering a girl at his school, became one of Netflix’s most popular series of all time—beating out Stranger Things Season 3—within just the first 17 days of its release.

Why is everyone watching this show? Part of the reason is that it’s a very well-made piece of television. Each episode is shot in one gripping take, and it’s sensationally acted by the previously unknown actor, Owen Cooper, who stars as Jamie, and Stephen Graham, who plays Jamie’s father and also co-wr...
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