Sweeping  ‘Adolescence’ Is Emmy Essential

By far the number one question I saw last night – both on our live chat and Around, generally, was “...Do I have to watch Adolescence now?” 

If you’re reading this, you know the answer. Yes, you do. You’re not going to like it, necessarily, or rather, you won’t like the process of putting yourself through watching it – but you need to know why it’s gotten such positive attention. Because yeah, the subject matter is very difficult (without spoilers: a crime involving young teenagers is investigated), and it’s thoughtfully but unflinchingly handled, via the phenomenal writing and acting that was rewarded last night 

…but, separately from the topic or even the performances, it’s also a phenomenal piece of television. Unreal, lightning-in-a-bottle electricity that was undeniable. Look at the charm of Owen Cooper winning: 

That boy is charming and humble, and thrilled, but also? He’s SO nonchalant! Like, he has his rain jacket on! 

He looks like he’s walking home from debate practice! (Update – that jacket actually was the intended topper for the outfit, and that’s somehow even better. “Owen, you want to wear a suit?” “Can I not just wear, like, a regular jacket?”  I’m dying.) I keep watching and each time I’m more taken with how natural and unaffected he is, and that incredible honesty, without trying to is how you win an Emmy for your first acting job. 

It’s also how you get Jake Gyllenhall to stop in and give you a personal present, because – wouldn’t you!? 

Jake Gyllenhaal surprises Owen Cooper ahead of the 2025 #EMMYs

— Film Updates (@thefilmupdates.bsky.social) 2025-09-14T18:35:25.000Z

What’s incredibly clear is that the success of Adolescence – that is, the scripts, the breathtaking production, the unheard-of shooting style and schedule – all worked at the top of their game because one person’s vision was paramount from the beginning to the end of the project. Stephen Graham says things like this don’t happen ‘to a mixed-race kid from Kirkby’, but that’s because he’s being humble about the amount of himself, his singular vision, he put into this show for years in order to make it come out exactly the way it needed to. 

omg the entire Adolescence cast freaking out over Stephen Graham's Emmy win for Lead Actor pic.twitter.com/qzzjjNbDDY

— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) September 15, 2025

At that point, there’s no surprise that not only did Erin Doherty win for her role, but that the show took writing and directing trophies as well as the overall Best Limited Series – Accepting that last one, Stephen Graham likened it to a game of football, but that’s not my take – Adolescence is so clearly an ensemble ballet, one with dozens of working parts – note director Philip Baratini shouting out half a dozen of the young performers – that not only operate individually, but were given the freedom to be the way they needed to be to make the show so incredibly real. (My personal favourite example of this is the fist pump from fellow nominee Ashley Walters when Owen Cooper won) 

Like Baby Reindeer before it, this is another show that proves personal, hand-crafted stories compel in a way that shows-by-committee never can, regardless of bigger budgets, larger crews or bold-faced names – not every passion project will get this kind of universal acclaim – but if someone’s passion isn’t driving the story, how can it ever hope to reach success like this?