Prime Minister Keir Starmer has voiced his support for a Netflix initiative to stream hit show Adolescence for free in secondary schools across the UK.
The drama broaches issues concerning harmful content on social media, including violent misogyny, through the story of a 13 year old boy who is accused of taking the life of his female schoolmate.
PM Starmer said that he had difficulties watching the show as a father of a 14 year old daughter and 16 year old son.
However in a statement from the PM’s office, Starmer said it is important for students to watch the show so that they “better understand the impact of misogyny, dangers of online radicalisation, and the importance of healthy relationships”.
Writers of the show, Jack Thorne and actor Stephen Graham, were invited to have a discussion with PM Starmer about child safety on Monday.
The decision to stream the show in schools came as a surprise to co-writer Thorne and was “beyond their expectations”.
“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,” he said.
The drama, which was released in early March this year, has already received astounding reviews and a rating of 99 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes and 8.3 stars out of 10 on IMDB.
Guardian Australia pop-culture and TV writer Michael Hogan described the show as “old-fashioned, issue-led, socially conscious television” as well as a “howl of despair and a call to action”.
Photo: Netflix by Stock Catalog found HERE and used under a Creative Commons license. This image has not been modified.
