It’s official – Netflix series Adolescence has overtaken the streamer’s biggest drama of last year, Fool Me Once, in terms of record UK ratings.
The opener of the gritty four-parter, co-written and co-starring Stephen Graham, has been watched by 12.8million viewers its first 28 days – beating the Harlan Coben adaptation featuring Michelle Keegan and Joanna Lumley by nearly 3million viewers.
The opening episode of Fool Me Once reached 10.1m viewers in the UK in the 28 days after it launched on New Year’s Day 2024.
Adolescence, co-written by His Dark Materials’ Jack Thorne, was filmed using a single-shot-per-episode technique and proved a huge hit when it launched on 13 March. The plot follows a young boy charged with the murder of a girl at his school, and the impact of that on both him and his family.
The series drew 6.9million in its first seven days as audiences were astonished and horrified by the hard-hitting storyline, with the drama launching with just under 1million for its launch night. Around 60% of the viewers were female, according to Barb data from overnights.tv.
The show, which had such an impact on audiences even gained acknowledgment from Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer. At the end of last month, the Prime Minister met with the creators of the crime drama, to discuss how to prevent young boys being dragged into a “whirlpool of hatred and misogyny”.
Keir Starmer revealed he had watched the show with his children and said “hit home hard”. He then backed a move by the streaming service to make the drama free to all secondary schools across the country. It’s hoped that through watching the series, students would better understand dangers of online radicalisation and the impact of misogyny.
Celebrity fathers, including Peter Andre and Jeff Brazier have also spoken out about the impact of the series on youngsters. Jeff, who is dad to sons Freddy and Bobby spoke about how grateful he was for the show, during an appearance on Loose Women.
“I’m grateful to Adolescence and Stephen Graham and the actors to really highlight what we all struggle with as parents,” he said. “How much is too much for me to be able to storm into the room and say, ‘I think you’re having a dangerous conversation. I need to look at your phone – the fallouts.”
“In the end, we try to avoid that because we want a peaceful, calm and happy home but they’re in their bedrooms and their in their phones. Everything’s calm but it might not be. I’ve had nightmares as much as the next parent, to be honest,” he concluded.
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