Every second that passes on the mini-series feels like it belongs, with no time wasted, and a sensation is felt upon a difficult-to-describe conclusion. It could very well be what someone emerging from the other side of trauma can only begin to articulate, or possibly this is what’s left behind in the wake of viewing landmark television. “Adolescence” is just that.

Far more grown-up than its name might suggest, Adolescence is a triumph of creative and technical artistry where the ‘gimmick’ at hand elevates it to one of the year’s finest. 

It’s nothing less than a miracle that the storytelling shines through the chaos of a very realistic high school. But it’s the third episode that makes Adolescence such an unsettling, chilling watch. .... Erin Doherty (A Thousand Blows, The Crown) gives an outstanding performance as one shrink, the whole episode swirling around her conversation with her subject. Cooper, too, is marvellous.

Overall, “Adolescence” is an addictive but impossibly hard watch, made even more compelling by terrific acting and an intense story that raises relevant questions about society today.

Adolescence isn’t just an entertaining series (though it is, in some warped way); it’s one of the most important series I've seen in a long time.

Never less than well-made, Adolescence sustains a rawness that makes it a tough but compulsive watch.

Unfortunately, “Adolescence” ’s flashy, fragmentary approach undermines its attempts to illuminate. .... The series opts to focus more on the societal factors that make such a killing plausible than on Jamie’s specific desires and concerns, its perspective is only ever that of an outsider. And though it pays lip service to Katie’s neglected humanity, its true sympathy lies less with the victim than with the grownup bystanders trying to make sense of it all.

Adolescene definitely lives up to the plaudits it's been getting, it is a well-crafted piece of art that I think really tells truth to power. I liked the fact it didn't aim to finish any conversations and how it did not attempt to wrap up Jamie's story in a neat little bow. The topic it covers is so big that to try and finish the show nicely would be doing its themes a disservice. I am glad that it has covered such a contentious issue in the detail it deserves. The one-shot decision is arguably a little gimmicky, it worked really well for ep 3 but overstated its welcome in some of the other eps. The acting is, across the board, fantastic and it has really pushed the envelope forward on masculinity and internet radicalisation which is the biggest compliment I can give it really.

Gripping dramatic work. Meticulous and impressive, from all perspectives, notably literally in the camera-work. One-take per episode enriches, making every moment more daring and tense. This format can make a few scenes, kind of "scenes between scenes" drag for a little too long, but this is taken to an advantageous degree in places, slowing the pacing down without losing momentum. Exceptional acting, highly impressive directing, thoughtful story - an eminent, immediate classic television work.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

This show is the most racist, sexist, and egregious pos to come out of the UK, and there have been a lot of them. In an era where violent attacks and assault, particularly against women, are a daily occurrence, this garbage lays the blame on white supremacy and misogyny of statistically (if you can believe any stats coming from this UK government) on the demographic that has the lowest numbers in comparison to unvetted illegal immigrants from cultures that tell them that SA is acceptable and should not be punished. Everything was wrong with this propaganda. #1?! C'mon Metacritic! There are lot of duds on this list, but this can't hold a candle to any of them. It's criminal the way they portray white boys in this. Can you imagine if they told the truth? They'd have to jail themselves. White guys getting years in jail for tweets and illegal boat people let off for actual kidnapping, SA and even murder. Shame on you.

Netflix’s Adolescence is a four-part drama that purports to tackle the UK’s knife crime epidemic but falls into a trap of putrid propaganda, presenting a narrative that feels untruthful to reality and disingenuous in its approach. The show centers on Jamie Miller, a white teenager radicalized by incel culture, casting him as the murderer in a story that critics on X argue misrepresents the true demographics of knife crime perpetrators. Posts on X and some commentators, like Trevor Phillips, claim the surge in UK knife crime is overwhelmingly driven by young migrant males, particularly from African countries, with specific mention of Black and Muslim individuals, such as in cases like the 2023 murder of Elianne Andam by Hassan Sentamu, a Black teenager, or the 2024 Southport stabbings by Axel Rudakubana, a British-born teenager of Rwandan descent. However, fact-checking reveals a more nuanced picture. Official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Ministry of Justice shows that in 2017, 38% of knife possession convictions among under-25s in England and Wales involved non-white youths, with London-specific figures from the Mayor’s Office indicating 67% of knife crime offenders under 25 were Black or minority ethnic. In London, Black individuals, who make up 13% of the population, accounted for 45% of knife murder victims and 53% of knife crime perpetrators in 2022. Yet, comprehensive data on the nationality or immigration status of perpetrators is lacking, and no reliable statistics confirm that “foreigners” dominate knife crime. The ONS notes that police-recorded crime data does not consistently track ethnicity or religion, and claims about specific groups like Muslims are not substantiated by official records. Adolescence sidesteps these complexities, opting for a narrative that pins the blame on a white incel, which feels like a deliberate dodge of the disproportionate involvement of certain ethnic groups in knife crime. This selective storytelling fuels accusations of bias and undermines the show’s credibility, rendering it a manipulative piece that prioritizes agenda over truth. While technically proficient, Adolescence fails to confront the real drivers of knife crime, leaving viewers with a distorted lens on a pressing issue.