The story
Armed officers burst into a family home in a town near Doncaster and detain Jamie Miller, 13, suspected of killing a girl from his school. Each of the four episodes plays out in real time in one unbroken shot – at the police station, at his school, in a secure training centre and back with his family – as detectives, a psychologist and his parents try to understand what happened, and why.
Why it matters
No streaming series had topped the UK's Barb weekly ratings before Adolescence, which also became the UK's most-watched streaming series in a single week. Its portrayal of online misogyny reached Parliament, where the Prime Minister backed calls to show it in schools. It went on to win nine Primetime Emmys.
Notable facts
- Every episode was shot in a single continuous take; the takes used were the 2nd, 13th, 12th and 16th attempts. (source)
- Owen Cooper became the youngest male winner in the history of the Primetime Emmy Awards. (source)
- It was made free to view in UK secondary schools after Prime Minister Keir Starmer's backing. (source)
- It became the UK's most-watched streaming series in a single week, beating a record set by Netflix's Fool Me Once. (source)