Netflix’s new British crime drama Adolescence is here.

The highly-anticipated series created by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne has released on the streaming platform today.

It is directed by Philip Barantini, who was behind the 2021 thriller Boiling Point, which also starred Graham, who has featured in Gangs of New York, Boardwalk Empire, Line of Duty and more.

Graham and Barantini have also reunited for Adolescence, with the former starring as Eddie Miller.

It will tell the story of a 13-year-old schoolboy, Jamie Miller, son of Graham’s character Eddie, who gets arrested for the murder of a classmate.

Filming began in the UK in July 2024 and finished around October.

Speaking to RadioTimes about the show, Graham said: “The idea came as – over the past 10 years or so – we’ve seen an epidemic of knife crime amongst young lads, up and down the country.

"And for me, there were certain instances that really stuck out where young boys – and they are young boys, you know, they're not men – were killing young girls.

Stephen Graham created and will star in AdolescenceStephen Graham created and will star in Adolescence (Image: Matt Crossick/PA Wire) "When I mentioned it to Phil, it just really hit me hard. I just thought, 'Why? What's going on? What's happening? Why is this the case?'

"What's going on with our society as a whole, as a collective, and without being disrespectful, when these things are on the news – and we’re a couple of kids from council estates – but when these things are on the news, your judgement instantly goes to blaming the family, you blame the mum and dad.

"We’re all guilty of it, because that's the easy common denominator. I just thought, ‘What if that's not the case at all?’"

Adolescence will also feature a unique trait, in that each episode of the story will be told using a one-shot style.

Speaking to Netflix, Barantini explained: “Basically, that means we press record on the camera and we don’t press stop until the very end of the hour.”

Adolescence full cast list

  • Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller
  • Ashley Walters as DI Luke Bascombe
  • Erin Doherty as Briony Ariston
  • Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller
  • Faye Marsay as DS Misha Frank
  • Christine Tremarco as Manda Miller
  • Mark Stanley as Paul Barlow
  • Jo Hartley
  • Amélie Pease
  • Lil Charva as Bully

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How to watch Adolescence

Adolescence is available to watch on Netflix from today, March 13.

It is a four-part series, with all episodes available now.