For all of the complaints about Netflix price hikes and grumbles that it's not worth its monthly subscription, the streaming giant occasionally comes out and surprises us with a banger. Away from the chart-topping success of Squid Game and Stranger Things, the platform sometimes proves you don't need colorful Hollywood stories to dominate.
Although the winning combo of This is England writer Jack Thorne, Boiling Point director Philip Barantini, and the legendary actor Stephen Graham should've been a big enough hint that we were onto a winner, that didn't stop Adolescence from defying expectations.
Hitting Netflix, and hitting it hard on March 13, Adolescence was a four-party drama that played out as a gripping one-shot. Barantini had already used the one-shot method on Boiling Point, but applied to the gripping tale of a young boy accused of stabbing his classmate, it was very different to the kitchen drama.
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Having dethroned its Netflix rivals on Rotten Tomatoes and being the first ever streaming show to top the UK television charts, it's already been dubbed this year's Baby Reindeer.
The only problem is that with just four episodes, fans are left dying for more. Adolescence ties off the heartbreaking story of the Millers without much need to return, although that hasn’t stopped viewers pleading the case for it to return as an anthology series. From Black Mirror to Mike Flanagan's The Haunting of series, Netflix is no stranger to getting plenty of life out of an idea by going down the anthology route.
According to Deadline, there's already talk about Adolescence season 2, and while we hope it keeps its gritty British edge, there are reports it'll get some help from a major Hollywood star.
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The trusted outlet claims how Brad Pitt‘s Plan B Entertainment production company is in early talks to bring Adolescence season 2 to life, with Plan B co-presidents Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner saying they're speaking to Barantini about the 'next iteration' of the series.
Gushing about the runaway success of season 1, Gardner and those at Plan B are thinking about how they can "widen the aperture, stay true to its DNA [and] not be repetitive."
Although Gardner couldn't reveal anything further, Kleiner said they hope to bring back Graham and Thorne on the creative side.
Gardner continued: "Phil’s style of doing the episodes in one take is not a gimmick. It’s very much in conversation with the subject matter.
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"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."
The pair were apparently 'humbled' by seeing how a "seemingly small, localized, emotional story" like Adolescence could resonate with so many people.
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It seems unlikely we'll see Graham reprise his role as Eddie Miller, but if we're going down the true anthology route, he could return in a different role. If not, a brief cameo as Eddie could tie together the Adolescenceverse.
All we need now is an official announcement from Netflix.