Adolescence (2025) TV Thread

[Franco Pinion]

New UK based series out on Netflix with 4 episodes, each shot in a single take. One of the best series I have watched this year. Emotionally harrowing.

 

[Janey]

Fantastic but I feel the need to put something lighter after watching it. It was really heavy viewing with a heartbreaking finale. The topic is so important though and pretty much a must-watch.

 

[LeeLee]

This was really heavy. I thought it might have shown the victim's family, I don't know if it was self-criticism when the female detective said "these things are always about the perpetrator, not the victim".

 

[Bad Gizmo]

This did everything it needed and just felt so real compared to a lot of television now, which feels far-fetched in some areas. This was the opposite; I couldn't feel more real, and as somebody with a 14-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son, it just hit me massively. I've watched shows that I've enjoyed more, but in terms of realism, message, and how it made me actually feel, this is honestly up there and a very special show.

 

[Amelia]

A very powerful and, at times, difficult-to-watch drama. I enjoyed the fact that it looked at the impact on different people and places over the four episodes, and the fact that it showed the effect of time on the situation.

It's not a documentary, so I'm not really fussed about any plausibility issues. It felt like it took several traditional and modern societal factors and put them together to create a scenario that had no clear or easy answers. It's got people talking about them. I thought it was great.

 

[Bob the Ninja]

This was very good, brilliant cast. It should be illegal for kids to have social media.

 

[Black Sheep]

I get why Episode 4 had to happen but it was the most boring by far. Never warmed to any of the family except maybe the daughter, but there wasn't much to her either. Overall, it was a fantastic show.

 

[Kirsty]

It wasn't an easy watch but really very good TV. The last episode was very different to the others in many ways but it did a terrific job of showing how such events echo and ripple through so many people's lives for a long long time.

My only criticism is that it was an episode, or two, or 3 too short. I'd have liked more exploration of his mates input to events and maybe an episode from the victim's perspective. It could have gone to 10 episodes of course but with a show, shot in such a specific way, there is a danger of diluting it's excellence - sometimes less is more.

 

[Beckie]

It's an intense and difficult show to watch, but it's an incredibly important one and very well put together. I don't think this is necessarily something that needs to be shown in schools (as the media has been reporting). I think it's more important for this to be something that parents discuss with their children, if they deem it's something their children are ready for.