Adolescence is a male-dominated drama – both in its themes, and the way it's chosen to execute them. From where the camera points, to some of the more subtle exchanges between the characters, it's woven into every aspect of the show – and this only adds to its brilliance.
From the moment of his arrest at the start of episode one, the camera stays fixed on Jamie Miller, the accused teen at the centre of a murder investigation. This is the character at the centre of the story, and the rest of the faces we see are simply in his orbit.
His victim Katie is only mentioned by name, save for a photo that someone has laid down with the flowers at the scene where she died, and some blurry CCTV footage that shows her violent final moments.
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We don't really get to see the girl whose life was taken in one swift act of male rage. We don't feel her family's grief. We don't get to know who she was, what she could have offered to the world. And while this might, on the surface, seem like a misstep, it actually only adds to the point that the drama is making.
Adolescence is commendable in the way in which it keeps the focus on the perpetrator. That's because it's not about whether or not he did it, it's an exploration of the why. The things that potentially fed that moment; and not in a way to excuse anything, but in a way to force us all to ask some difficult questions about the world in which we live.
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Stephen Graham – who both starred in and co-wrote the drama (with long-time collaborator and award-winning writer Jack Thorne) – has spoken about this being an intentional move. He told Digital Spy that he wanted to flip the script and explore a "different perspective" than a standard police procedural, which would typically follow multiple angles.
With each standalone instalment filmed in one single take, the viewer's gaze is kept in that singular direction. But whenever the camera does cross paths with a female character, their treatment or experience of Jamie's case acts as a tiny piece that helps build the overarching (and yes, patriarchal) puzzle.
When Jamie chooses his appropriate adult, the one that will be by his side during questioning, he instantly selects his father Eddie (Stephen Graham). As a result, we don't get much context of the biggest female figure in his life (his mother, played by Christine Tremarco). Instead the focus is on the dynamic between himself and his father; his example of what it means to be "a man" navigating the world.
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Lead detective DI Luke Bascombe (Ashley Walters) is also worrying about his connection to his own son, and at one point expresses concern about the way he's showing up as a father.
Bascombe's subordinate DS Frank is a woman, and it absolutely feels intentional that it's this way around. It shouldn't be lost on audiences that when the teacher, Mrs Fenumore (Jo Hartley), introduces them to a classroom, she momentarily forgets to address Frank altogether – an experience that will feel all-too familiar for many women in the workplace.
But despite the oversight, her voice is vital. It's through her that Bascombe (and by extension the audience) gets some home truths about how women are often a footnote in their own story.
As can be the case in the way real-world instances of male violence against women are talked about, the accused's name dominates the conversation. The act that destroyed that woman's life. In this way, Adolescence is making a point to do the same – and in doing so, it's holding a mirror up to it.
Then we come to Briony Ariston (Erin Doherty), the psychologist who has been assigned to assess Jamie. She is a professional in a field that requires a certain skillset – we're no experts, but there's presumably a degree, or at the very least a wealth of training, that would put you across from someone facing a murder trial in this capacity.
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However when she asks a male prison guard to grant her access to view the cameras in the questioning room, he simply cannot wait to tell her all about the "body language stuff" that he's been reading a book about. He 'doesn't need to tell her that', he later adds. No, you really didn't.
Adolescence lives in the complexity of its subject matter, and that's what makes it such an exceptional piece of drama.
While elements of it were frustrating to watch as a woman, this was entirely the point – and after all, we need to centre men in this conversation. Because that's where the understanding, reflection and change needs to happen.
Adolescence is available on Netflix now.
TV Editor, Digital Spy Laura has been watching television for over 30 years and professionally writing about entertainment for almost 10 of those. Previously at LOOK and now heading up the TV desk at the UK's biggest TV and movies site Digital Spy, Laura has helped steer conversations around some of the most popular shows on the box. Laura has appeared on Channel 5 News and radio to talk viewing habits and TV recommendations. As well as putting her nerd-level Buffy knowledge to good use during an IRL meet with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laura also once had afternoon tea with One Direction, has sat around the fire pit of the Love Island villa, spoken to Sir David Attenborough about the world's oceans and even interviewed Rylan from inside the Big Brother house (housemate status, forever pending).
