British screenwriter and playwright Jack Thorne has written several TV dramas that he hoped to stir up political debate. Until last week, they never took off.
His new show, “Youth,” came on Netflix later.
Since its release on March 13, the four-part drama about a 13-year-old boy suspected of killing a girl from school became Netflix's latest hit. According to Streamer, it was the most viewed show on dozens of countries, including the US.
In the UK, shows were more than a topic of chatter at work. It reignited debate over whether the government should restrict access to children's smartphones and block access to harmful content.
The newspapers here publish dozens of articles about “puberty,” written by Thorne with actor Stephen Graham. The London Times headline is called “a TV drama that all parents should watch,” and school phone ban campaigners report a surge in support.
Even in the UK parliament, lawmakers use shows to create political points. Last week, Prime Minister Kiel Starmer told the House he was watching “adolescents” with two children, saying action was needed to deal with “fatal consequences” for young men and boys who watch harmful content online.
In an interview, Thorne said he was pleased that the Prime Minister mentioned his show. Still, he wanted British lawmakers to do more than talk about his drama.
“Adolescence” emerged at a moment that raised global concerns about the impact of smartphones on child health and social development. Last year, Australia banned children under the age of 16 from social media (although the law includes many exemptions). In February, the Danish government announced that it would soon ban smartphones at schools from what France already is implementing in primary and secondary schools.
There appears to be no desire for similar laws among the British governing Labour Party. But here we have a long history of television shows that turn the topic of social concern into the most urgent political issue of the day, dating back to the 1960s. The show shed light on the lights of homeless people.
Most recently, after the 2024 broadcast of “Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office,” then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the drama about hundreds of real postal workers who were falsely convicted of theft, quickly unveiled a law that exonerated them.
James Strong, director of “Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office,” said part of the reason for “puberty” is that viewers can easily relate to shows centered around ordinary, loving families.
It also elicited social concerns “ready to explode,” Strong said.
Thorn said he began working on “puberty” when actor Graham contacted him about two and a half years ago, shocked by the string of murders in which a boy stabbed a girl and wanted to write a show that explored why those crimes happened.
Initially, the pair struggled to resolve the motivations of the show's main character, Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper). He unconsciously deemed himself single and railed against women online until the assistant suggested that the pair study the culture of incel.
Thorne said he spent six months online “diving into a very dark hole” by purchasing Burner's phone, setting up a new social media account. He also found that incel worldview harsh arithmetics – the belief that 80% of women are attracted to 20% of men, and that if they want to find a sexual partner, they must manipulate the boy, also seemed “incredibly attractive” to many young men.
Thorne said he feared that his son, 8-year-old, would come across such an idea when he got a smartphone.
Daisy Greenwell, founder of the organization's smartphone Free Childhood, said the show “deep panic” felt by many parents, but “the government is getting much bigger about this.”
Supporters were discussing the show moments that made them weep in the organization's WhatsApp group, Greenwell said, and many singled the third episode of the series where a psychologist played by Erin Doherty asked about his views on women. During the exchange, Jamie transforms from a sweet, innocent boy into a groaning teenager, and Greenwell says the change has upset him and scared many parents.
In an interview, Doherty said the actors spent two weeks rehearsing the episode. This is a single shot that lasts about an hour, similar to each part of “puberty.” They then recorded 11 takes and the director chose the last one.
She could only risk speculation about why the show was so nervous, Doherty said, but added that some of the appeal is that the show is not defensive. While many viewers focused on using smartphones as a trigger for the boy's murderous act, the show's script had “courage that doesn't give answers.”
And co-writer Thorn has called for laws in news media interviews to restrict smartphone use, but said his show wasn't solely responsible for technology. In “adolescents,” he said the boy's school was underfunded and teachers were too stressed and overworked to stop bullying.
There is an old saying that a village is needed to raise a child, but Thorne said, “Take the village to destroy the child.” He added that “puberty” was “hoping to persuade the village to help these children.”
