The Controversy Over Netflix's Megahit New Show Is Even More Intense Here in the U.K.

It sometimes happens that a random British TV show will suddenly shoot to enormous, worldwide acclaim without a big publicity campaign to push it there, instead driven primarily by word of mouth. The best example of this is 2024's Baby Reindeer, which became a hit and sparked real-life twists and turns to rival those within the series itself. The latest example, Adolescence, has seen success on a different scale, though. The four-part drama, about a 13-year-old boy named Jamie who is arrested for murdering a girl at his school, became one of Netflix's most popular series of all time--beating out Stranger Things Season 3--within just the first 17 days of its release. Why is everyone watching this show?