Adolescence director ‘terrified’ of daughter growing up in ‘social media world’

The director of the hit TV series Adolescence says he is terrified by the prospect of his young daughter eventually using social media.

Philip Barantini believes the show’s universal themes of online bullying and toxic masculinity are among the reasons why Adolescence has been propelled as the most talked-about series of 2025.

The four-part mini-series about a 13-year-old boy accused of murdering a teenage girl who attends his school has been the most-watched show globally on Netflix for the past three weeks by some distance. 

Times of Malta spoke to director Barantini about how the themes of Adolescence have changed his own perspective on social media, as well as on the challenges of the show’s unconventional cinematography. 

Barantini, 44, says he was completely surprised by the scale of the series’ success.

“We made this show in a small town in the UK. We thought it might do OK locally because it’s set here. But then it came out and was shooting to the number one spot in all of these countries you wouldn’t expect.”

The director says social media is a big global issue. 

“A lot of parents don’t understand what their children are able to access. You let your kids play in their bedrooms but you don’t know what they’re doing in there.

“It’s also very relatable – this is a normal family and one of the worst possible things that can happen has happened. I think people are taking different things away from it.”

Director Philip Barantini (left) with actor Stephen Graham, who plays Jamie Miller's (Owen Cooper) father. Graham is also a co-creator of the show.

In episode two, detectives investigating the murder visit the school attended by both the accused and the victim in an attempt to understand the motive behind the murder. 

“There are some schools in the UK that have completely lost control of their students, especially when it comes to mobile phone use,” the director says. 

As the parent of an eight-year-old girl himself, Barantini is not looking forward to the prospect of her being on social media in a few years’ time.

“I’m not going to lie – it’s terrifying. Thankfully she’s quite smart and knows that she can come to us if she’s worried about something. We got her an iPad for Christmas and she received a message on it saying, ‘Hope you have a lovely day’. She came running to me straight away. Luckily it was her uncle, but I was really proud that she had the awareness to do that.”

Preparing his daughter for the internet

When it comes to preparing his daughter for the risks of the online world, Barantini says he and his wife opt for open, honest communication. 

“We want her to find her own way in life as much as possible, without scaring her. But while social media can be a good thing, a lot of it is also quite dark. It’s a really fine line.”

Owen Cooper with the director and other crew members during filming..

‘No time to take a breath’

Whereas most films and TV shows are made up of different scenes that are stitched together, the hour-long episodes of Adolescence consist of one continuous, unbroken shot without cuts, known as ‘one shot’. 

“It makes the audience sit up and pay attention. There’s no time to take a breath. It’s relentless, it’s real time. As a viewer, you’ve got to spend an hour sitting in this situation – almost going on the same journey with the actors, seeing and feeling the same things as they are,” Barantini says.

While many would assume that the biggest challenge of using such a technique is having to start over every time an actor fluffs a line, the director says he enjoys such imperfections. 

Barantini (second from right) with Graham (second left) and other crew members on set.

“I always try to give the actors the power and confidence to carry on. If you fluff a line, that’s fine – just don’t make a thing out of it. In real life, that’s what we do all the time.”

When it came to production, each episode took three weeks to film, with 10 takes per episode. 

“The first week consisted of rehearsals only with the actors. In the second week we had tech rehearsals where we’d bring everyone in, including the camera crew and sound team, to do things step by step to make sure everyone’s in the right positions and not appearing on camera. 

“Then the third week was shooting week. We’d come in in the morning, do the first shoot of the day, then have a lunch break in which I’d give plenty of notes, and then come back in the afternoon and do it all again.”

The crew getting ready to film episode 3.

While not discounting the possibility of adding more stories to the series in the future, Barantini says he would be reluctant to force anything.

“It’s very unlikely that this viral moment will happen again. It’s a once-in-a-blue-moon thing. But I would love to work with everyone again. We’ll see – at the moment we’re all just riding the wave.”