**What is the plot of Adolescence?**

Over four episodes, the series tells the story of a family whose world is ripped into shreds when Jamie, their 13-year-old son, is charged with the murder of a teenage girl from school. It will explore who is responsible for the crime, why they did it, and how it could have been prevented.

Graham will play Jamie’s dad and acts as his ‘appropriate adult’ (someone who supports a child or young adult if arrested or questioned by the police). Ashley Walters will play Detective Inspector Bascombe, while Erin Doherty is the clinical psychologist working on Jamie’s case.

What marks the series apart is that it is directed by Boiling Point’s Philip Barantini. In a similar style to the Boiling Point film and the TV series, each episode is filmed in one continuous shot with a main character as the focus. This means that the story unfolds in real time as the main characters search for answers in the aftermath of a shocking tragedy.

As well as starring, Graham has also produced (alongside his wife and Matriarch Productions co-founder, Hannah Walters) and co-written (with Jack Thorne) the new series.

“One of our aims was to ask, ‘What is happening to our young men these days, and what are the pressures they face from their peers, from the internet, and from social media?’” Graham told Netflix. “And the pressures that come from all of those things are as difficult for kids here as they are the world over.”

Stephen Graham and Ashley Walters lead the cast of Adolescence, Netflix’s staggering new family drama