Netflix's new series 'Adolescence' has parents talking: Here's why

"Adolescence" is now available to stream on Netflix.

Netflix's newest limited series has everyone talking.

The show, which premiered on Netflix last week, is a gripping four-part drama series from the United Kingdom that explores the loss of adolescence and the complexities of youth.

Read on to see why everyone is talking about this new show and why the show's writers, Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne, have called for the series to be shown in schools and Parliament.

"It's something that people need to be talking about, hopefully that's what drama can do," Thorne told the BBC.

Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller in “Adolescence.”

What is 'Adolescence' about and is it based on a true story?

The series, in which each episode is filmed in one take, follows 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), whose world is turned upside down when he is arrested for the murder of a teenage girl named Katie, who went to his school.

"This is a show about a kid who does the wrong thing and causes great harm. To understand him, we have to understand the pressures upon him," Thorne told the BBC.

While the series isn't based on a true story, Graham -- who portrays Eddie Miller, Jamie's dad in the series, in addition to being a co-writer -- told Rolling Stone UK that he drew inspiration from the several real-life incidents that happened among youth in the U.K., specifically several incidents that involved the stabbing of teen girls.

"There had been a number of incidents where young boys were stabbing and killing young girls, and I'm calling them young boys because they're not developed to be men," Graham said.

He added, "They'd happened up and down the country, and my objective was merely to ask: 'What's going on? Why is this happening? Can we just have a look at it, because this kind of thing didn't happen when I was a young lad.'"

According to the Office for National Statistics, there were around 50,500 offenses involving a sharp instrument in England and Wales (excluding Greater Manchester) in the year ending in March 2024.

ONS added that in 2023-2024, "17% of those admitted to hospital for assault by sharp object were aged 18 or younger."

What have critics said about the series?

Film critic Peter Travers raved about the new series in a recent review and aid that it is "sure to rank with the year's very best."

He said, "'Adolescence' observes with skin-crawling dread and piercing clarity the bruises that come with being young and the societal forces that inflict them."

Read his full review here.

Who is in the cast of 'Adolescence'?

Along with Graham and Cooper, the cast also includes Faye Marsay, Ashley Walters, Christine Tremarco, Amelie Pease, Erin Doherty, Austin Haynes and Lewis Pemberton.

What topics and themes are explored in the series?

Among the many topics that are touched on in the series are bullying, the impact of social media and mental health.

Graham told The Independent, that when he was young, if there was something going on that parents wanted to protect their children from, "You'd be sent to your room."

"But today even within the context of that home, when lads and girls go to their bedrooms, they have the world at their fingertips," he added.

Another topic that is explored in the show is masculinity and misogyny, specifically male rage and toxic incel culture, a term used in online forums to describe a subculture of the "manosphere," which is a portmanteau of "involuntary celibate."