How Netflix Shot Adolescence’s 4 Episodes In One Take

All it takes is a knock at the door for lives to be changed forever. In the case of “Adolescence,” the new hit limited series from Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, it’s not so much a knock as it is the blast of a battering ram. A seemingly traditional family in Northern England receives the awakening of a lifetime when their home is raided at the start of their day. Guns drawn and confusion ablaze, the onus for the surprise visit transpires on account of 13 year-old Jamie (Owen Cooper), as he’s been accused of brutally murdering his classmate Katie (Emilia Holliday).

Jamie is taken into custody while his father Eddie (Steven Graham) assures him that everything’s going to be okay and will meet him at the station. But rather than cutting to an interrogation room, “Adolescence” holds on Jamie’s panic throughout the entire booking process in real time.

The Netflix sensation is not only making waves for its stellar performances, but because each of its four episodes were all composed in one shot takes. You’re never given any reprieve from the harrowing emotions that emanate from the various perspectives of this investigation. It’s an impressive technical feat that required an insane amount of prepping and rehearsal.

In a prompt on X (formerly Twitter)Netflix UK & Ireland revealed the rigorous process of making sure they got it right:

“It was initially planned that they would film each episode in full 10 times (once in the morning, once in the afternoon, across five days) – but in reality a few attempts had to be abandoned and restarted, so some episodes had many more than 10 takes.”

It’s gotten easier to cheat a oner. Some productions create the illusion by carefully stitching it together through seamless transition pointsbut there are none of those to be had in “Adolescence.” Every hour-long episode is the real deal. Series director Philip Barantini already had prior experience, having been a part of the one-take film “Boiling Point.” Here, the process is implemented in a series where emotions are constantly running high and need to be maintained throughout.

It can be faked through the traditional manner of shot-reverse shot techniques, where you can pick and choose what works best from your coverage. In the case of “Adolescence,” however, everything has to be timed as close to perfect as it could possibly be, or the take is just about unusable. To keep that up over 10 meticulously planned runs is a huge accomplishment. The takes that were ultimately used often came from the last day of shooting, with the finale having gotten it perfect on the 16th go-around. The only notable exception was with the first episode where the second take had what they needed.

Something folks don’t consider is that mapping out the camera’s trajectory is one thing, but wrangling the cast and crew to hit their marks is another. In order to prepare the actors for the performance ballet required for this shoot, each day had rehearsals that added increasingly more each day to ensure by the end, everyone knew what they were doing (via X).

Episode 2 provided significant challenges considering it takes place at the school where there were over 320 young students and 50 adults to herd. That episode alone took over 13 takes (via X). Not only did actors have to be seen on camera, but when you have an entire crew making this happen in the background, there’s also the matter of making sure they don’t get in the way of the shot. In another prompt on XNetflix UK & Ireland reported that they worked in tandem with the actors to create a symbiosis where each party complimented the other:

“During these rehearsals the cast would also work through the choreography, allowing the DOP to plan the positions of the camera through the whole take, as well as the movements of the crew.”

In the event a crew member needed to be present without getting clocked so easily, the solution was easy — just make them part of the scene as background extras. It’s a genius method to have them at the ready. “Adolescence” is the kind of series that serves as a great reminder of how much work goes into our entertainment.

Every episode of “Adolescence” is currently streaming on Netflix.