Adolescence has made ratings history by becoming the first streaming show to top the UK's weekly TV ratings
Co-written by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne, the hard-hitting drama tells the story of a 13-year-old boy named Jamie Miller who is accused of murdering a girl at his school named Katie.
Graham stars in the series as Jamie's dad Eddie alongside Ashley Walters, Erin Doherty and newcomer Owen Cooper, who plays Jamie.
Shot in one take, each episode follows the aftermath of the crime, focusing on the effect it has had on the community, as well as Jamie's family and Jamie himself.
According to figures by ratings body Barb, the popular Netflix drama has become the first ever streaming show to top weekly ratings in the UK, beating traditional broadcast shows such as The Apprentice and Death in Paradise.
Related: Netflix releases Owen Cooper’s Adolescence audition tape
What to Read Next
Per the latest figures, the first episode of Adolescence was watched by 6.45 million people in its first seven days, beating Fool Me Once, which was watched by 6.3 million people in its first week when it was released back in January.
This means the hugely popular show has received the biggest audience for any streaming TV show in the UK in a single week.
Episode two of Adolescence was viewed by 5.94 million people, while its third episode was watched by 4.65 million.
Related: Best streaming services
Given a five star rating by Digital Spy, Adolescence now ranks among the programmes with the highest seven-day ratings this year, coming behind BBC's The Traitors, Call The Midwife and the documentary Gavin & Stacey: A Fond Farewell.
Speaking recently about the show's one-shot approach, writer Jack Thorne said the filming technique "forces the audience into complexity".
"The one take forces you to be partial," he said. "What you can't do is tell the whole story, you can only tell bits of the story. You can only look one way for an hour, and then you have to stop looking. And that thing of the unblinking eye forces you into complexity, and hopefully forces the audience into complexity."
Adolescence is available now on Netflix.
Reporter, Digital Spy
Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.
