logo
The TV show I think about every time I look at my children

The TV show I think about every time I look at my children

Washington Post18-07-2025
When the Emmy nominations came out this week, some of my favorite TV shows were deservedly honored: 'The Pitt,' 'Severance,' 'The Studio,' all excellent shows intelligently made by seasoned, accomplished professionals that I nevertheless mostly watch while folding laundry and occasionally checking the score of the St. Louis Cardinals game on my phone.
But of all the Emmy-nominated shows this year, one — and only one — grabbed me by the lapels and shook me, forced me to put my phone and laundry in the next room, commanded my undivided attention. I think its heights reach the grandest level of the most ambitious cinema and stands as an exemplar of the finest that television, or art, has to offer. It is a show that — like the greatest and most challenging films, and like so little of TV — dares you to look away while knowing you won't be able to. I think it's the best thing that has been on television in a decade.
'Adolescence' has been nominated for 13 Emmys this year, including outstanding limited or anthology series, a best actor nod for Stephen Graham and a best supporting actor spot for 15-year-old Owen Cooper, making him the youngest ever nominee for the award.
When I'd first heard about 'Adolescence,' most of my friends talked about it like it was some sort of endurance test. Which is why it was surprising, when I began watching the first episode, that it, briefly, felt like a slightly snarky, clever Quentin Tarantino-esque genre cop thriller: Two English detectives, sitting in their car, bantering about indigestion and apples as they wait for a raid to begin.
Then we learn: They're raiding the home of a 13-year-old boy named Jamie, played by Cooper. He lives in working-class West Yorkshire, England, with his parents and sister, a seemingly normal, happy family. When the detectives burst in, they treat the situation delicately, sensitively, but with cold professionalism: There has been a murder, and they are here to arrest the person who did it.
That person turns out to be the adolescent Jamie, accused of killing a female classmate, and the rest of the episode sets the tone for the four-episode series: It is sober, rigorous, straightforward and mesmerizing.
Jamie's father, Eddie, is played by series co-creator Graham, previously known mostly for playing tough guys in Guy Ritchie and Martin Scorsese movies. Eddie is a dedicated father who finds the notion that his son could be capable of such savagery so absurd that he spends the entire episode agreeing to everything the police request just so he can get this whole supposed misunderstanding over with. His world — and the world of any parent watching, jaw-dropped — ends up shattered. Everything he ever thought he knew, everything he had ever cared about and loved, it all explodes in a devastating second. It is as emotionally overwhelming as any moment I've ever seen in a TV show. And there are still three episodes to go.
'Adolescence' is a show with a lot on its mind: the criminal justice system; crumbling education infrastructure; the nature of grief and loss; and, most of all, what 'manosphere' influencers such as Andrew Tate and the isolating, radicalizing nature of social media are doing to our children. Yet it makes sure to keep all of that as subtext. What 'Adolescence' is really about is people trying to remain upright in the wake of unspeakable tragedy.
Each episode is captured in a single uncut take. But the technique is so seamless and quiet that your average viewer, not so obsessed with cuts and camera tricks, might not even notice.
Even so, it gives 'Adolescence' an almost preternatural urgency, as if it were not written and performed by actors at all, but instead somehow happening in real time, for the first time, right there in front of you as you watch it. And it feels like you are experiencing it along with the characters; it feels like it is happening to you. It all leads — and I want to be as careful of spoilers as possible; even though millions have already watched it on Netflix, if you're not yet one of them, you deserve the privilege of discovery yourself — to a final moment of such raw, almost primal, emotion that I find myself thinking about it every time I look at my children: You want to protect that beautiful person you have devoted your entire life to, and yet you know that you can't — that their life is theirs, and it's a life you can never truly know.
'Adolescence' is so vividly present that it can feel like a found object, something that is not a reflection but an actual hyperrealistic slice of the world we live in — the world we have made. I've not quite been the same since I watched it, and I bet you won't be either. It feels like a foundational document of our time.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Remembering Hulk Hogan: Uncrowned's complete coverage of the wrestling legend's death
Remembering Hulk Hogan: Uncrowned's complete coverage of the wrestling legend's death

Yahoo

time5 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Remembering Hulk Hogan: Uncrowned's complete coverage of the wrestling legend's death

The news of Hulk Hogan's passing on Thursday sent shockwaves through the wrestling world. One of the defining — and polarizing — figures in sports entertainment history, Hogan revolutionized the industry in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming a pop culture icon in the process. Uncrowned tackled Hogan's death from myriad angles, examining his path from wrestling powerhouse to pariah and everything in between. Here's a roundup of the team's coverage: Wrestling legend Hulk Hogan dies at 71 (Anthony Sulla-Heffinger) Video obituary: Ariel Helwani remembers Hulk Hogan on 'The Boys in the Back' (Ariel Helwani) President Trump, Vince McMahon, others offer tributes to Hulk Hogan (Yahoo Sports Staff) Hulk Hogan and the ugliness that changed everything (Kel Dansby) Hulk Hogan's legacy isn't as simple as our love for Hulkamania once was (Ben Fowlkes) Hulk Hogan wasn't just an American icon, he was America (Jay Busbee) The early days of Hulkamania were something to remember (Chuck Mindenhall) Hulk Hogan's legacy: 5 hidden-gem matches from his career (Phil Schneider) Hulk Hogan: The larger-than-life figure behind pro wrestling's global takeover (Robert Jackman) The heel turn that defined the entirety of Hulk Hogan's career (Anthony Sulla-Heffinger) Hulk Hogan's most iconic cards and collectibles (Mantel) Hulk Hogan was an original in the ring — and in sports marketing (cllct)

17-year-old boy charged in murder of 18-year-old in Chicago's West Lawn
17-year-old boy charged in murder of 18-year-old in Chicago's West Lawn

CBS News

time7 minutes ago

  • CBS News

17-year-old boy charged in murder of 18-year-old in Chicago's West Lawn

A 17-year-old was charged with the murder of an 18-year-old boy and the attempted murder of a 15-year-old boy in the West Lawn neighborhood Wednesday night. Police said the 17-year-old was charged with one felony count of first-degree murder, a felony count of attempted first-degree murder, and a felony count of aggravated battery. He is expected in court on Friday for a detention hearing. Police have not released the suspect's name because he is a juvenile. Police said just after 11:30 p.m. in the 7200 block of South Avers Avenue, an 18-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy were walking on the sidewalk with a group when three people in the group turned on them, pulled out guns, and fired shots. The 18-year-old victim was shot in the head and taken to Christ Hospital, where he died. He has not been identified. The 15-year-old boy was shot in the cheek and was taken to the same hospital in good condition. The two victims are brothers, according to neighbors. Police say two guns were recovered, and three people were taken into custody in the 6800 block of South Pulaski Road.

Motorcyclist killed in crash southeast of Rochester, state patrol says
Motorcyclist killed in crash southeast of Rochester, state patrol says

CBS News

time7 minutes ago

  • CBS News

Motorcyclist killed in crash southeast of Rochester, state patrol says

A motorcyclist was killed in a crash Thursday morning just southeast of Rochester, Minnesota. It happened at about 10:48 a.m. in Marion Township on Highway 14 at Chester Avenue Southeast, according to the Minnesota State Patrol. The victim, a 52-year-old St. Charles man, was travelling westbound on the highway when he collided with a pick-up truck headed east. He was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. The driver of the pick-up, a 53-year-old Maple Grove man, was not hurt. He was not wearing a seat belt during the crash, the state patrol said. The fatal accident is still under investigation, and the state patrol said alcohol wasn't involved. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety says, as of Thursday, there have been 191 traffic-related deaths in the state this year.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store