"Adolescence" by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, contributed by Richard Glazunov (2025)
The first episode delivers one of the most realistic depictions of shock and loss I’ve ever seen, as a father discovers his son is being charged with the murder of a classmate.
In the second episode, we witness how grief ripples through the community: from the best friend of the girl who was killed to the broader student body, who express their pain in unexpected ways (acting out, being rude, pushing boundaries).
The third episode centers on a psychological evaluation of Jamie, the 13-year-old killer, whose mood swings are volatile and unsettling. During one of their conversations, he inadvertently confesses to one of his crimes and has a breakdown when he realizes he may have solidified his loss of freedom. When the psychologist informs him that this will be their final session, Jamie breaks down, desperately asking if she likes him, as she is one of the few people he has a connection with in confinement, and the thought of losing this connection eats him alive.
The fourth and final episode explores how Jamie’s family, the Millers, confront the loss of their son, not through death, but through the destruction of normalcy in their lives and his imprisonment. They contemplate moving away due to public shaming, including an act of vandalism on the father’s work van on his birthday.
Overall, no words can fully capture the emotional gravity of this series. Each episode is filmed in a single continuous shot with no breaks, and the acting is, without exaggeration, some of the best I’ve ever seen. Throughout this series, you will feel the pain of the family, the loved ones, and the raw emotion of the consequences of the death of Katie Leonard.
