“Adolescence” — a 2025 psychological drama — doesn’t just open the door to a new world; it holds up a sobering mirror to the one we live in. Set near West Yorkshire, England, the four-episode limited series spans 13 months, starting with the arrest of 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) for brutally murdering his classmate.
Episode one features the police raiding Jamie’s house, arresting him immediately for a crime he vehemently claims he didn’t commit. During the interrogation, detectives present Jamie and his father with video surveillance footage of Jamie seemingly stabbing the girl — Katie. And yet, Jamie vows he is innocent, forcing his family and the audience to grapple with the dissonance. The story continues in episode two; from Jamie’s friends to Katie’s, we get a first-hand look at the conversations within the halls.
My favorite is episode three — an intense psychoanalytical look inside Jamie’s mind as he speaks with psychologist Briony Ariston (Erin Doherty). The episode reveals the twisted workings of Jamie’s mind and how they rely on a greater societal issue among young boys. Lastly, episode four dwells on the aftermath of Jamie’s arrest and how the Millers celebrate his father’s birthday despite the noticeable gap without their son.
Each episode was one take, meaning that the camera started and did not stop until the end of the episode. This innovative method forced the actors to stay “on” for almost an hour and gave the acting a haunting, bottled quality.
The show tackles real-world themes that make it an exceptional but chilling reflection of the implications of children interacting with online media. It investigates incel culture and how niche online echo chambers have built this manosphere that young boys like Jamie find solace in during times of crisis. According to an article published by the Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats, incel culture is rooted in the idea that “attractiveness is pre-determined by genetic factors, which dictate our physical appearance, and these are the main features that women find attractive in men.” This perspective gives way to the formation of communities online known as the manosphere. An article from Equimundo explains that it is a collection of “online spaces characterized by their misogynistic and anti-feminist content, which swoops in with clear messages to help men make sense of a changing world, particularly around gender and gender roles.”
This culture frames the way Jamie sees every person in his life. A moment that stuck out in the third episode was the unsettling difference between how Jamie described his parents to the psychologist. While he describes his father as powerful, justified in his actions and an essential part of his life, the most he can say of his mother is that she can make a good roast. While Jamie chooses to make his father his trusted adult, his mother knows him better. These relationships are all emblematic of the apparent disparity between how Jamie sees men and women.
Stephen Graham, who plays Eddie Miller, created “Adolescence” with the goal of spreading awareness about the dangerous spaces that adolescents find themselves in. In the U.K., violent stabbings similar to Jamie’s have taken a terrifying trajectory of growth. We must discuss these topics to take preventative measures against the rising epidemic of gender-based violence. Young boys are not learning these mindsets by spending time with gangs on the streets; they are actually being enveloped by the manosphere in the safety of their bedrooms through a screen.
