Adolescence is Netflix’s #1 series worldwide. Here are 3 reasons why it is a must-watch

Adolescence is a four-part limited series starring Stephen Graham and newcomer Owen Cooper. It has received rave reviews upon release last week.

The new Netflix show Adolescence has taken social media by storm. The four-episode series directed by Philip Barantini, released on Netflix last week on March 13 and has now claimed the No. 1 spot worldwide. It is an uncommon phenomenon given the show arrived with mostly newcomers and little promotion. The interest in the show grew exponentially only because of the rave reviews and overwhelming word of mouth that spread in the last few days.

Owen Cooper plays Jamie Miller, a teen accused of murdering a girl who studies in his school.

Here are three reasons it should be highest on your watch list. (Also read: Adolescence review: Netflix show about a teen accused of murder is unflinching, gripping and a total must-watch)

Adolescence has great performances

Co-created and written by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne, Adolescence tells the story of a family torn apart after 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) is arrested for the murder of a girl in her school. Did he really do it? The parents do not believe it. The police search for the motive. Meanwhile, the show progresses, with each episode happening in the course of one continuous shot, to immerse the viewer up close and personal with the characters.

The entire ensemble cast deliver amazing turns, but it is newcomer Owen Cooper's central performance that shines the most. As the accused boy pleading innocence of the grave crime, Cooper transforms from gullible to stoic, vulnerable to petrifying in the shift of a few glances. It is astonishing to watch. Stephen Graham also gives a standout turn as the bereaved father unable to understand or accept where he went wrong.

Spectacular cinematography, shot in a single take

The one-shot technique is unbelievable at first, given the camera never stays at one place for too long. It follows the characters, traces them inside a vehicle, and at one extended sequence near the end of the second episode even flies from one location to another without a single cut in between. How did they do that in one shot?

Cinematographer Matthew Lewis told Variety in an interview that a lot of preparation went into it, especially in the second episode where the action takes place inside the school, with more than a hundred children present. “At the end of the school episode, we connected to a drone, which flies away, and we land again at a car park. It was a last-minute request from the execs. We were originally going to take off and fly and stay up in the air, but they thought it would be a nice beat to go back and find Stephen Graham at the end of the scene, so we had a couple of days to work that out, but we got it,” he said.

Meanwhile, Philip Barantini told Netflix, "Basically that means we press record on the camera, and we don’t press stop until the very end of the hour. But it’s much more complicated than it sounds. It takes months of preparation and weeks of rehearsals and an incredible team of people to pull it off at every stage, from the script to the locations to the production design to where exactly the camera is going to be able to shoot and from what angle.”

Netflix UK & Ireland also shared a series of QnAs to detail how the filming was conducted. Take a look here:

Gripping and relevant story

Even though Adolescence boasts of such a masterful technical achievement, the central story of this show is one that demands the most attention. The show details one case to reflect on the casual misogyny and the influence of social media in the youth of this generation. Are parents aware what their children are searching on the internet? Do they know what their classroom environment looks like? Who is influencing the kids? Adolescence delves deep into these concerns, and goes the length to ask some uncomfortable questions in episode three, where Jamie is questioned by a therapist, played by Erin Doherty. It is one of the finest hours of television in years. Adolescence matters with such immediate urgency because it speaks to the universal anxieties of parenting, societal pressures, and unchecked male rage. It is a total must-watch.