Peaky Blinders star Stephen Graham's new Netflix one-shot crime drama is out now, and it has a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score

Adolescence
(Image credit: Netflix)

Stephen Graham's new one-shot crime drama Adolescence has debuted to a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score - and it's loosely based on not one, but two haunting true stories.

Per the official logline, "When a 13-year-old is accused of the murder of a classmate, his family, therapist, and the detective in charge are all left asking: what really happened?" Graham developed the series alongside Jack Thorne and also stars as Eddie Miller, the father of the accused boy (Owen Cooper). Philip Barantini, who helmed the Graham-starring one-shot drama Boiling Point, directed all four episodes in the miniseries, which was, of course, filmed in one continuous shot. It currently sits at an impressive 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The cast includes Ashley Walters as DI Luke Bascombe, Erin Doherty as Briony Ariston, Faye Marsay as DS Misha Frank, Christine Tremarco as Manda Miller, and Mark Stanley as Paul Barlow.

"I read an incident in the paper and it was about a young boy killing a young girl," Graham told Yahoo UK, explaining the inspiration behind the series. "Then not long after that, it happened again in a completely different part of the country. Both of those incidents really hurt my heart and it just made me think, what's going on? What's happened in today's society where young boys feel a need to kill a young girl?"

All four episodes of Adolescence are streaming now on Netflix. For more, check out our list of the best Netflix movies and the best Netflix shows to add to your streaming queue right now.

Lauren Milici
Senior Writer, Tv & Film

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.

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