Advertisement
Netflix has another surprise success on its hands with Adolescence — and it’s shaking things up big time. This limited series dropped just last month and has already stormed into Netflix’s elite club of all-time most-watched English-language shows. And get this — it pushed Stranger Things Season 3 down a notch and booted Bridgerton Season 2 off the top 10 list.
With 96.7 million views in just 17 days, Adolescence landed at #9, which is wild considering Netflix calculates these stats over 91 days — so this show still has over two months to climb even higher.
What’s behind the buzz? Well, Adolescence combines a raw, emotional storyline with a bold cinematic choice — some episodes, like Episode 3, are shot in a single continuous take. And in that very episode, Owen Cooper, a complete newcomer, made his acting debut. His portrayal of Jaime — a 13-year-old accused of murdering a classmate — was so good, people couldn’t believe it was his first time on a set.
Fans and critics alike are praising the show’s realism and emotional depth, especially with performances from heavy-hitters like Stephen Graham, Erin Doherty, and Ashley Walters. Graham himself said the series aimed to explore what today’s young men are really going through — peer pressure, the influence of social media, and more.
Considering it had zero major marketing, its viral success is kind of incredible — Adolescence is joining Baby Reindeer as one of Netflix UK’s biggest surprise hits, and the way things are going, it might even climb higher on the all-time list.