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“You see a swan glide gracefully across the water, but its legs are flapping like mad. And that is basically what each one of these episodes are,” said co-creator and actor Stephen Graham in a behind-the-scenes video for Netflix about the awe-inspiring technicality of the new Netflix show “Adolescence.”

“Adolescence” has rightfully become one of the most popular shows on the streaming service. For the show, Graham reunited with director Phillip Barantini to create yet another anxiety-inducing experience which follows in the footsteps of their sensational 2021 film “Boiling Point”.

The tragi-thriller follows the arrest of 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) after he is accused of murdering his classmate, Katie Leonard (Emilia Holliday). The show uses a chronological four- episode format that guides the audience through the day of the arrest, the repercussions of the arrest at Jamie’s school, Jamie’s conversation with a child psychologist for a pretrial assessment, and the consequences his family faces.

A huge risk that “Adolescence” gambles on is using the one- shot format, in which each episode is accomplished through one continuous shot with no hidden stitches or cuts. This elaborate technique can be a risk because it has potential to make any narrative a gimmick — especially if it is deemed unnecessary. Yet “Adolescence” distinguishes itself by using this method to reconstruct the crime thriller.

“Adolescence” is anything but sensationalist, and the one-shot technique acts a wonderful restraint to a relatively mild narrative in a hyper-saturated genre market. The story cannot use a nonlinear structure to cut to evidence or expand its emotional scopes by cutting to the reaction of other characters. Editing is a ghost in the world of “Adolescence,” and the show is all the more masterful for it. Any downtime, like Jamie being taken from his home to a police station, cannot be wasted to reveal exposition or thrills. The audience must simply witness this neorealist story in humanizing totality where the weight of consequence is almost too tangible.

Episode 3 of the show is widely regarded as its best — and with good reason. The episode puts the brakes on the exhilarating pace of the story and dives into a complete two-hander between Cooper and Erin Doherty, who plays psychologist Briony Ariston. What ensues is an exemplary episode in screenwriting where Jamie is given the spotlight to explain his actions and his child psychologist to deconstruct them.

The performances are so incredible that one wonders why modern media has fallen into such a state of excess when sometimes all a creative needs is a camera and two dedicated performances.

Yet the magic of “Adolescence” isn’t limited to just Doherty and Cooper’s work, but also the ensemble that performs without any fault. Such a story needs to be grounded by the bravery of its actors to carve out a deep sadness within them, and everyone, truly everyone, seamlessly accomplishes this. Graham and Christine Tremarco are obvious standouts as Jamie’s parents as they muster an emotional cauldron of care, anger, and hopelessness. Ashley Walters, as DI Luke Bascombe, beautifully balances the sophistication of his role as a lead investigator and the delicate nature of being a parent himself.

Special recognition should be given to the child ensemble that braves such a mature complexity for their roles with ease and grit. To find such talent, casting director Shaheen Baig went to two northern drama schools in the UK that work with underrepresented communities.

Although the show is best enjoyed with no prior knowledge of its thematic explorations, the dark heart of “Adolescence” lies in the unfortunate interconnected web between masculinity, incels, acts of mass terrorism, and social media. With the early exposure to this web children are now susceptible to via extremists on social media, the playground is now not the only place where the politics of children are kept hidden from adults. “Adolescence” is a much-needed conversation about how the parental sphere of influence on a young mind is slowly shrinking against the behemoth of the internet, and the deadly consequences of corrosive unmonitored ideology.

Co-creators Graham and Jack Thorne have created a magnificent piece of television that places a much-needed conversation in the forefront of our modern times, and it is all the more brilliant for the crew and cast's palpable commitment.

—Staff writer Kai C. W. Lewis can be reached at kai.lewis@thecrimson.com.