Crime drama series 'Adolescence' set to bring something different

How do you bring a different take on a crime series? You can approach it by bringing in a new theme, or themes, or you can bring new production elements that the audience isn’t able to see very often. The new, limited crime series (four parts) that will start airing on Netflix on March 13, Adolescence, is set to bring in both of those approaches.

The not-so-usual theme puts the viewers in the position of a parent who has to cope with the fact that his son is accused of murder, where quite a number of difficult questions have to be answered.

The new production element has not been done that often - each of the four episodes is filmed in a single, continuous shot. The idea is to present the events as if they are unfolding in real time, with both the family and the police trying to resolve all the open questions - who, why, and could the crime have been prevented?

Adolescence might be unlike anything you have ever seen

The story starts when 13-year-old Jamie Miller is arrested and accused of the murder of a girl who was his schoolmate, taking the evolving events into an undefined territory.

The star of the series is Stephen Graham who previously played in Boiling Point and Bodies, who plays Eddie Miller, the father of the accused (Jamie Miller, played by Owen Cooper).

Other members of the cast include Ashley Walters (Top Boy) as Detective Inspector Luke Bascombe, Erin Doherty (The Crown) as Briony Ariston, the clinical psychologist assigned to Jamie’s case, Faye Marsay (Game of Thrones), as well as others, all seasoned actors, and including a newcomer, Amélie Pease.

The show is directed by Philip Barantini, who, working again here with Graham, directed the 2021 film Boiling Point, where he again employed a similar continuous one-shot filming technique.

On the evidence of what Graham and Barantini have achieved previously, Adolescence promises to be not only a gripping, tense watch but a series that will have viewers glued to their seats.

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