Is Netflix's Adolescence (2025) Crime Drama the Next Breakout Hit?

A family's world turns upside down when 13-year-old Jamie Miller is arrested for murdering a schoolmate. The charges against their son force them to confront every parent's worst nightmare.

Episode One

Titled Day 1, this episode bursts into action as we are catapulted into pure chaos and disbelief. This episode is centred around Jamie’s arrest and initial interrogation, along with the outrage from his family and the build up of tension and mystery surrounding the case. Episode one puts us in the position of an unaware parent, trusting Jamie’s word but in reality completely blind to the severity of the situation. This episode is enigmatic, keeping us in the dark and only revealing glimpses of evidence to piece together the full story. At this point it is unclear where the story will take us next. 

Episode Two 

Day 3, centred in Jamie’s school as investigators search for more information from his peers and a potential lead on a murder weapon. Episode two is integral to the development of this series. Although Jamie is not present in the episode he is on everyone’s minds, this episode grounded the piece in reality. Showing us the impact a crime like this has on those close to it, the rumours begin, the speculation starts and the chaos occurs. Ashely Walters (DI Bascombe) is a core of this episode and acts as an anchor for all the questions and mystery, an incredible performance. 

Episode 3 

7 Months takes us deeper into Jamie’s psyche, the whole episode oversees one conversation with a psychologist. Trying to dissect Jamie’s intentions by making him comfortable and relaxed, this episode is enigmatic, slow paced and conversational. The episode begins in a soft approachable emotional state but soon shifts into a sharp, fearful display of anger and exhaustion. This episode gives us a deeper understanding of Jamie and an insight into his character, thanks to the incredible performance from young actor Owen Cooper. Cooper and Erin Doherty had incredible chemistry and played off of one another’s subtleties and movements, this episode was a game of cat and mouse and I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen.  

Episode 4 

13 months, this episode shows us the impact the crime has had on Jamie’s family. Outside of the case we get a chance to see those left behind, how Jamie’s mother, father and sister are able to keep living and acting as though everything is ok. This episode was the most heartbreaking, performances from Stephen Graham, Christine Tremarco and Amélie Pease were all fascinatingly raw and realistic. The episode is filled with light hearted moments but crushed with the looming realisation throughout, the family are filled with dread and frustration and those themes were endlessly present on their faces. Stephen Graham gave a particularly moving performance in this episode, a broken man fighting to keep his family together. 

Overall, it must be said this series is beyond gripping, enticing and thrilling to say the least. Adolescence (2025) isn’t just a memorable, impactful piece of television but it is also a chance to share the impact social media and the internet can have on a young minds. Each episode of Adolescence (2025) was filmed in one continuous shot, this alone is utterly impressive and forces the viewer to stay in the action, to sit in the uncomfortable silences and to bare witness to heartbreaking moments. Adolescence (2025) breathes life into the crime genre through this enticing camera technique, I can only imagine the effort and commitment that went into executing such a task and it was truly worth the effort. 

Owen Cooper was able to bring humanity and complexity to the role of Jamie, through each episode we see a glimpse deeper into the mind of Jamie but Cooper was able to keep the audience in the dark for as long as possible. Jamie was a hard character to read, innocent or guilty? Telling the trust or lying? Cooper was able to keep the audience on their toes, unable to truly decide which side to lean. Cooper is a powerful, demanding performer on screen and I thoroughly enjoyed his commitment to both Jamie’s emotional state and physicality - particularly within episode three - this is the most fascinating episode to watch Cooper. 

Stephen Graham had plenty of heartbreaking moments within this series, Graham was able to showcase a range of emotions in a matter of seconds. Specifically within episodes one and four, Graham acted as the broken father, a man left with nothing but heartbreak and fear. Seeing a grown man tap into these deeply emotional areas was beautiful and deeply tragic to watch, I was in awe of his performance and thought he was believable in every moment. 

Probe Points

★★★★☆