Viewers and critics have praised Netflix's powerful series " Adolescence ," and many are already considering it a landmark television show.

The four-part British series launched last week and was the most-watched show on the platform worldwide over the weekend.

Tom Peck of The Times newspaper described it as “total perfection”, a view shared by Lucy Mangan of The Guardian , who said it was “the closest thing to television perfection in decades”.

Fans of the series on social media include American director Paul Feig (who directed, among others, the series “Mad Men”), who called the first episode “one of the best hours of television I’ve ever seen,” and British presenter Jeremy Clarkson, who called the show “masterful.”

“Adolescence” shows the aftermath of a teenage girl’s stabbing, with a 13-year-old boy from her school arrested for her murder.

Jamie, the young suspect, is played by newcomer Owen Cooper, and Stephen Graham plays his father.

The story sheds light on the corrosive impact of social media and misogynistic influencers on some teens.

Graham, the series' creator, said he was inspired to make it after seeing two separate reports of boys stabbing girls to death.

“I wondered what was happening in a society where this kind of thing was becoming commonplace,” he told the BBC ’s The One Show.

“I couldn't understand it. So I wanted to take a look and try to shed some light on this particular issue.”

Male anger

The show's other creator, writer Jack Thorne, said they wanted to "look into the eyes of male anger."

The central character had been “indoctrinated by voices” like that of Andrew Tate — the controversial influencer who declares himself a misogynist — and “voices much more dangerous than Andrew Tate’s,” Thorne told BBC Radio 4’s Front Row program.

“This series has the courage to peel back the layers and say, 'Let's talk about this, because we're still dealing with it today. These issues are still in the news,'” actress Erin Doherty, who plays a child psychologist in “Adolescence,” told Radio 4's Today show.

"So what we can take responsibility for is keeping the discussion open, and hopefully we'll succeed. I think it allows parents, aunts, uncles, and even friends to participate in the conversation," she added.

A sequence shot

Another thing that characterizes this series is that each episode was filmed in a single uninterrupted take.

In The Guardian, Mangan said its technical achievements “are matched by a series of award-winning performances and a script that manages to be both intensely naturalistic and hugely evocative.”

He added that “'Adolescence' is a deeply moving and heartbreaking experience.”

Peck's review in The Times begins: “Wow! Wow! I want to type the word 'wow' about 700 more times, followed by 'Don't miss Adolescence on Netflix,' and that's it.”

Telegraph television critic Anita Singh wrote that watching it “was a devastating experience,” adding: “It’s a drama so quietly devastating that I won’t forget it for a long time.”

Singh said the one-take technique “may seem like a gimmick,” but the performances are “phenomenal.”

Regarding Graham, he noted that he's "the best actor of our time," but that "the truly remarkable performance" is Cooper's, who "moves between vulnerability, anger, courage, and fear. What he does is astonishing."

Fantastic performances

Meanwhile, Deadline 's Jake Kanter wrote: “'Adolescence' is the most flawless four-hour TV drama I've ever seen. It stays with you long after the credits roll. An amazing show.”

Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone magazine said it was “one of the best things—and an early contender for best—that will hit the small screen this year.”

Margaret Lyons of The New York Times said the series is “a rich work of social criticism,” and described the standout episode, the third, as “one of the most fascinating hours of television I’ve seen in a long time.”

On BBC Radio 5 Live 's Must Watch program, Hayley Campbell said the series doesn't attempt to address the issues it raises, but rather "brings them up, it examines them. It's about the rise of misogyny, particularly among young people, fueled by people like Andrew Tate, who is mentioned, but only once. It's not about him."

“The series is more about the horror of how little control you have over your child and what they do on their phone.”

Fellow critic Scott Bryan added: “The performances are absolutely fantastic. I'd say it's flawless. However, I think the one who deserves the most recognition is 15-year-old Owen Cooper.”

Published in the Argentine newspaper La Nacion on March 21, 2025