Netflix's Adolescence made free for all UK secondary schools

Netflix has announced that its four-part drama Adolescence will now be made available to all secondary schools across the UK via the Into Film+ streaming platform.

The statement read: "From today we are making Adolescence available to all secondary schools across the UK through Into Film+.

"Additionally, healthy relationships charity Tender will produce guides and resources for teachers, parents and carers to help navigate conversations around the series."

The announcement follows a Downing Street roundtable hosted by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who met with co-writer Jack Thorne and producer Jo Johnson to discuss the concerns raised in the show.

Centred on a 13-year-old boy arrested for the murder of a young girl, the drama examines the rise of incel culture and the online radicalisation of teenage boys.

Starmer described the series as “a torch that shines intensely brightly on a combination of issues that many people don’t know how to respond to.” He also acknowledged the emotional difficulty of watching it: “As a dad, I have not found it easy viewing," he said. "It’s been really hard to watch.”

The Prime Minister noted that there is no “silver bullet response” or “policy lever that can be pulled,” but stressed the urgency of addressing the themes explored in the show, which he called a “cultural issue”: “What can we do as a society to stop and prevent young boys being dragged into this whirlpool of hatred and misogyny?”

Starmer's office stated that making the series accessible in schools will “help students better understand the impact of misogyny, dangers of online radicalization and the importance of healthy relationships.”

Jack Thorne also stated that the team created Adolescence to provoke conversation. “To have the opportunity to take this into schools is beyond our expectations,” he said. "We hope it’ll lead to teachers talking to the students, but what we really hope is it’ll lead to students talking amongst themselves.”