Netflix’s new series “Adolescence” took the streaming scene by storm in March when the four-episode series struck all sorts of emotional chords for its realistic and tragic story about an average 13-year-old boy accused of committing a violent crime against a female classmate after some high school controversy involving the manosphere. Not only did the show land in Netflix’s top charts, but we at /Film also consider it one of the best Netflix originals ever made.
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Though the story of “Adolescence” seems like one that would be contained to a limited series, it should come as no surprise that the success of the show has led to Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, which produced the series with Warp Films, engaging in discussions with Netflix about how to make a second season come together.
Deadline has the news straight from Plan B co-presidents Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, who said they’ve been talking with director Philip Barantini about the “next iteration” of the show. However, the discussions don’t seem to involve series co-creator and co-star Stephen Graham just yet, though Gardner did note that they hope he and writer Jack Thorne will re-team with them on the project.
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But with such a contained story that feels like it’s mostly resolved by the end of the show’s four-episode run, what would a second season of “Adolescence” look like? Speaking to Deadline, Gardner said that a second season of “Adolescence” would “widen the aperture, stay true to its DNA, [and] not be repetitive.” However, she wasn’t willing to reveal any more than that. Though, if we’re guessing, it sounds like “Adolescence” would likely become an anthology series with a whole new story and cast.
Adolescence season 2 has plenty of options to explore
It’s not difficult to imagine another season of the series focusing on the struggles of a different teenage character. Whether it would be another crime story or perhaps something that digs into another complex and troubled part of adolescence remains to be seen. Also unclear is whether the new season would have some kind of connection to the characters or narrative of the show’s first season, perhaps unfolding in the same school community or a nearby neighborhood. But since the first season is based on real life details without being explicitly tied to a singular true story, there are plenty of avenues to explore.
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One detail that we hope sticks around is the effective use of the one-take shots that play out over the entirety of each episode. The technical framework allows what’s happening to resonate and hit even harder, as the audience is forced to sit in uncomfortable silence and let the characters’ confusion, anger, and sadness wash over them. As Gardner noted:
“Phil’s style of doing the episodes in one take is not a gimmick. It’s very much in conversation with the subject matter. In early conversations with Stephen and Jack, they were talking about how it’s too easy to look away. You can look away from the school, you can look away from the police station, you can look away from the counseling, you can look away from the family. In that kind of prismatic way of viewing, you can duck the issue. So our theory was, what would happen if you couldn’t look away? And will that make the subject embed in you in a different way? That was a thrilling thing.”
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Audiences certainly weren’t looking away, and Netflix has also made the series readily available to secondary schools in the United Kingdom, so that they might use the series as an education tool to help combat some of the issues they’re having with teenagers during such a confusing and difficult time in their mental, physical, and emotional development. It’s already been added to some school curriculum across the pond.
While we wait to see what “Adolescence” season 2 will hold, here are some more shows like it that you should seek out. Stay tuned for more updates as they become available.
