Adolescence Co-Creator Stephen Graham Teases Anthology Series and Reveals More Secrets from the Netflix Show

Spoilers for all four episodes of Adolescence below.

Adolescence has quickly become the No. 1 show on Netflix, and now fans eager for a potential Season 2 have something new to look forward to. Speaking exclusively with IGN, series star, co-creator, and co-writer Stephen Graham shared some production secrets and confirmed he’s open to exploring the format and themes of the show in new ways.

Adolescence follows 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), his family, and their community after Jamie is accused of murdering his classmate. With just four episodes, each shot in a continuous hour-long take, the show has left viewers gutted, contemplative, and begging for more. And now there’s a possibility that more might be coming.

Will There Be More Episodes of Adolescence?

Graham says he hasn’t considered what happens to Jamie, his parents, and his sister after Episode 4 ends. “No, no. I don't think I have. I love the way it ends because it ends in that bedroom where somehow this whole thing began,” Graham says of the scene in the final episode where Jamie’s father Eddie (played by Graham) weeps in the boy’s bedroom and laments not doing more for his son. “And I think the major thing we were talking about was that Eddie should have spent more time in that room.”

But just because the Millers’ story is over doesn’t mean we won’t see the Adolescence universe or the famous one-shot technique again. When asked if he’d be open to a format like an anthology series, Graham confirms that the possibility is there.

“I don't think I could say anything, but I like that sentence of ‘like an anthology series,’ Graham teases. “Let's just say, ‘Mm-hmm!’ The possibilities of that are - yes, there are possibilities of that.”

That Adolescence Drone Shot Originally Had a Very Different Ending

The show’s second hour takes place at Jamie’s school as police in charge of the case investigate the killing. The episode ends with an incredible drone shot in which the camera leaves the school’s parking lot and travels high overhead to the site of the murder, where Eddie exits his van and leaves flowers on the ground. But Graham says they originally intended for the drone to keep flying without revisiting the scene of the crime.

“A wonderful executive at Netflix came up with an amazing idea,” Graham says. “(On Monday and Tuesday), the crew attached the camera to the drone and the drone just flew off, and it kept flying all over the countryside. But Wednesday night, (the executive) said, ‘I have an idea. Why don't we bring the drone back down to meet Eddie?’ And (I said), ‘we've got two days left!’ And he was like, ‘I know, but this would be brilliant.’”

Graham says that even with the decision to end Episode 2 with the reconceived drone shot, limited time and unfortunate weather almost scuttled the whole idea.

“So we had to navigate that,” Graham says. “And what (also) happened was the wind. We got one (shot) which was a bit wobbly, and then the winds really ruined it. And we (thought we) had no chance, no opportunity. So we put Eddie back at the end of the school and (the episode) kind of ended there. So it had gone okay. But then that afternoon, everything just seemed to (work) like a jazz band. It was our final take on that episode. Everything went beautifully. It was just hitting the notes perfectly. And it just worked.”

Even with the drone sequence executed perfectly, technical difficulties meant the Adolescence production team had no idea it had worked.

“Everybody back at the base (had) no idea whether it had worked or not, because they'd lost picture!” Graham says, explaining how the video feed from the drone-mounted camera went dark. “When (the camera) got attached to the drone, they'd lost picture. So they had no idea whether we had it or not. So (when we realized we had it) that was exciting and wonderful.”

Episode 3 Had Other Takes But the One Used Hit ‘the Sweet Spot’

The third episode of Adolescence consists almost entirely of a tense conversation between Jamie and his court-appointed psychologist (played by Erin Doherty). Graham says there were several completed takes that they considered using but ended up on the cutting room floor.

“There were actually two or three takes that we could have selected within that context,” Graham says. “They were all really great, but the take that we ended up going with was the one that we all felt in the end. It was a collective decision. We all felt that that was the one that really hit that sweet spot.”

The Point of the One-Shot Format of Adolescence

While audiences have been amazed by the technical expertise required to make a series like Adolescence, Graham insists the single-shot technique was a narrative decision at heart.

“We wanted to take the audience on a journey,” Graham says. “With the first (episode), we knew that we could grab the audience and we could bring them along. The camera would then represent that kind of voyeuristic element and the audience would work out what's happening the same way as Eddie and the family work it out. It allows you to really immerse yourself in that process.

“And then when you get to (Episode) 2, you are piecing it together the same way as the police officers piecing it together. Then when it gets to (Episode) 3, you are learning about Jamie the same way that (Doherty’s character) Briony is learning about him. And then when we get to (Episode) 4, we really see the impact that this has had on his family. It makes us go on the journey with them. It makes you think, ‘Wow. Imagine being in that position.’

“We made something with love, integrity, respect, and humility,” Graham says. “We basically threw this stone into a pond. And the ripple effect has been unbelievable.”

This interview has been formatted and condensed for clarity.