The director of Adolescence expressed his joy after the news that the popular Netflix series will be accessible for free in secondary schools across the UK.
Philip Barantini shared a celebratory moment on his Instagram story, exclaiming ‘We did it,’ as the four-part drama continues to initiate discussions on ways to safeguard young boys against misogyny on social platforms.
Netflix’s decision comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with creators of Adolescence at Downing Street today.
Mr. Starmer, who confessed that watching the series with his teenage children was challenging, voiced his support for the decision to provide the ‘groundbreaking’ show to schools.
‘As a father, watching this show with my teenage son and daughter, I can tell you – it hit home hard,’ he said in a statement after the meeting with co-writer Jack Thorne.
‘As I see from my own children, openly talking about changes in how they communicate, the content they’re seeing, and exploring the conversations they’re having with their peers is vital.’
Showing the series will ‘help students better understand the impact of misogyny, dangers of online radicalization and the importance of healthy relationships,’ his office added.
Mr Thorne, who has said that children should not be given smartphones until they turn 14, added the show was made to ‘provoke a conversation’ and ‘what we really hope is it’ll lead to students talking amongst themselves’.
Adolescence director Philip Barantini has celebrated after it was announced that the hit Netflix drama will be made available for free at all schools across Britain
Netflix’s decision comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with creators of Adolescence at Downing Street today
Mr Barantini (pictured) posted a celebratory Instagram story saying ‘We did it’ as the four-part show continues to spark conversation
The drama explores how online influencers, such as self-described misogynist Andrew Tate, can impact children’s views and lead them to violence.
The four-episode programme follows the Miller family, whose lives are torn apart when their 13-year-old son Jamie is arrested for stabbing a female classmate to death after being influenced by online misogyny.
The show’s protagonist Jamie Miller is played by Owen Cooper in his acting debut, while his dad Eddie is played by Stephen Graham.
Mr Graham previously said he wanted viewers to focus on the supposedly ordinary life of Jamie.
Meanwhile, schools are set to give students anti-misogyny lessons in wake of the show.
The classes will form part of the government’s new relationships, health and sex education (RHSE) guidance, which will be introduced before the end of the academic year.
Though Labour’s classroom guidance is still being developed, it is understood to include content to ‘support healthy relationships’, to ‘enable schools to tackle harmful behaviour and ensure that misogyny is stamped out and not allowed to proliferate’, an insider source said, the Times reported.
From as early as primary school, children will be encouraged to ‘express and understand boundaries, handle disappointment and pay attention to the needs and preferences of oneself and others’, with content modified for older children to reflect the ‘real-life complexities of romantic and sexual relationships’, the source added.
Mr Starmer, who admitted he ‘found it really hard’ to watch the show with his teenage children, said he supported the decision to make the ‘groundbreaking’ series available at schools
Stephen Graham (pictured), who plays protagonist Jamie Miller’s dad, said he wanted viewers to focus on the supposedly ordinary life of Jamie
Adolescence made British TV history, becoming the first streaming show ever to become the most-watched programme of the week, and has amassed at least 66.3million views.
While the show is already being tipped for a string of BAFTA nominations, figures published by ratings body BARB on Sunday showed that the first episode was watched by 6.45 million people in its first week.
Top Boy legend Ashley Walters also featured in the role of DI Luke Bascombe and Erin Doherty plays psychiatrist Briony Ariston.
