If you haven't seen the new series "Adolescence" on Netflix, it is by far one of the best cinematic experiences of 2025. The four-part drama is being praised not only for its intense subject matter and acting but also because each episode was filmed in a single take with no camera cuts or movie magic transitions. Let's take a look behind the scenes to see how it was filmed.
As mentioned above, "Adolescence" is an intense four-part Netflix miniseries that shows how a family is torn apart when the 13-year-old son Jamie Miller is arrested for the murder of a classmate. The series explores complex family dynamics, social pressures, and the struggles facing teenagers today. Directed by Philip Barantini, "Adolescence" is quickly receiving critical acclaim for its raw performances and innovative cinematography. It's also pretty wild that the entire series was co-created and co-written by Stephen Graham, who also portrays Jamie Miller's father. Needless to say, everyone involved in this production is world-class and extremely talented.
All that being said, as a photographer and videographer, what really makes "Adolescence" stick out from similar-themed shows is how each episode was filmed. Instead of simply telling the story through traditional editing and cinematic camera movements, the creative team instead uses a unique storytelling approach where each episode is filmed in a single continuous, unbroken shot. This immersive video technique heightens the intensity of the drama by drawing viewers deeper into the unfolding mystery.
Episode 1
One of the reasons I decided to watch "Adolescence" in the first place was because I had seen my creative friends mention how the first episode was shot entirely in one single take. Episode one is extremely intense as we watch the initial raid and arrest of 13-year-old Jamie Miller and follow the entire process of him being booked into a local jail, strip-searched, and appointed a public defender. Throughout the full 60 minutes, we quickly learn about all of the leading characters in a way that I haven't seen since Sam Mendes' "1917" released back in 2019. With all the complex and dynamic camera movements captured within a single take, I was instantly hooked and couldn't wait to see where the "Adolescence" storyline would take me.
Episode 2
Without lowering the temperature, episode two changes course and explores how a small-town school and its students react to the death of a female classmate. As I've mentioned previously, the execution by the elder actors in episode one was phenomenal, but watching dozens of child actors perfectly display their own theatrical performances raises the bar to a level rarely achieved. I can recall no less than four nearly perfect scenes within the school setting.
The climax of episode two begins with a wild chase sequence that immediately reminds you that you are still watching a single, one-shot camera performance. As the behind-the-scenes video explains, instead of faking the transition from moving outside of the school, the camera operators actually passed the camera through a fake window and then in post-production recreated the glass window from scratch. Watching these extremely challenging camera movements immediately made me self-conscious of my inability to always nail focus or keep the camera from shaking obnoxiously when making relatively simple transitions.
Perhaps the most impressive camera movement throughout the entire series happens at the end of episode two. If you weren't already impressed by forty-five minutes of intense acting and cinematography, your jaw will probably drop when you find the camera taking flight and giving you a bird's-eye view of the actual crime scene. Watching the camera operators handle the smooth transition of the camera from hand to drone is almost too much to believe. As I was watching this final sequence, I expected the screen to go dark and the credits to come up, but no; instead, the camera descends on the memorial of the slain 13-year-old girl and captures the rarely seen perspective of the accused father as he reacts to visiting the scene of the murder.
Episode 3
Episode three switches gears once again and this time focuses on the interaction between Jamie Miller and a clinical psychologist tasked with evaluating the young boy before his trial. Just as we have seen in previous episodes, the camera never cuts as a dramatic scene unfolds between these two characters. Unlike the single-shot episode found in "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story," where the camera simply zooms in slowly for the entire performance, the camera in episode 3 of "Adolescence" continues to move around seamlessly as the story unfolds. For me, this episode was less about the camera theatrics and more about the incredible acting of Owen Cooper's depiction of an adolescent boy dealing with sexuality, popularity, and acceptance. His performance in this episode should win him an Oscar alone.
Episode 4
As episode four unfolds, the plot switches back to Jamie's family and the fallout they experience as the relatives of an accused child murderer. For me, this episode gave me the most anxiety and showed just how vulnerable any family can be when faced with an unexpected situation. Just as we saw in episode one, a significant portion of this episode takes place in the family's company van as they transition between two locations. What is wild with this single performance is at times you see the van in its entirety only to realize that a ton of grip has been added to the vehicle while our attention has been distracted elsewhere.
Thinking about this further, perhaps they just switched out the van entirely with another van that could be operated by a driver sitting on the roof. Either way, the movement of the camera from multiple locations without a single cut or poorly executed transition is once again only topped by the incredible acting shown on screen.
If you watch the behind-the-scenes video above, you will learn that each of these scenes was filmed multiple times in order to record the perfect single take. From the Netflix social media posts, we have learned that all of "Adolescence" was filmed in just five days. While Episode 1 was filmed in its entirety on day one, the other three episodes were all captured on the final day of filming. Presumably, these were all filmed by different camera operators on different sound stages, but nevertheless, most of this entire series was completed on the last allocated day of filming.
Q: Which takes were chosen for the final episodes?
— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) March 15, 2025
Ep 1 - Take 2 - shot on shoot day 1 of 5
Ep 2 - Take 13 - shot on shoot day 5 of 5
Ep 3 - Take 11 - shot on shoot day 5 of 5
Ep 4 - Take 16 - shot on shoot day 5 of 5
You can see that many of the final episodes needed between 11–16 takes just to get the perfect performance. Those must have been some long days!
If you enjoy this behind-the-scenes video, Red Carpet Trailers has published a longer cut of it with the writer and cast members explaining more about their motivations behind the film.
