Netflix’s gripping new crime drama Adolescence is currently sending shivers down the spines of viewers, securing the top spot in the platform’s most-watched shows.
The tense four-part series, shot entirely in a single take, tracks the ordeal faced by the Miller family after their 13-year-old son Jamie is implicated in the murder of a fellow pupil.
The brainchild of Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne, Adolescence eschews the traditional ‘whodunnit’ format, exploring instead the complex societal factors that may have contributed to such a horrific act.
In the critically acclaimed third instalment, young Jamie encounters psychologist Briony Ariston (Erin Doherty), who seeks to unravel the complexities of his actions. The episode opens with an evocative scene where Briony offers Jamie a comforting cup of hot chocolate, which he eagerly accepts.
Amidst widespread praise for its engaging storytelling, one particular aspect of the episode has raised eyebrows behind the scenes. Cooper disclosed a rather unsavoury tidbit linked with the shooting of this intense episode, reports the Mirror.
During a detailed Netflix interview alongside Doherty, where they dissected the episode’s each and every moment, Cooper chimed in during the hot chocolate scene, revealing: “That was minging that.”
He expanded with clear distaste: “That was horrible”.
Cooper exposed that what appeared as hot chocolate on screen was actually not, necessitated by the fact that the genuine article rendered the set floor excessively tacky, disrupting the camera work in the continuous filming process.
Doherty chimed in with a behind-the-scenes anecdote, recalling: “Oh yeah, and I remember in one [take] it spilled all over the table. I could see people in the cameras, that could see into the room, quickly trying to clean it up before the camera came back.
“Oh it was disgusting,” the young actor summed up.
Since its debut on March 13, the buzz around Adolescence has been relentless. The show is currently riding high with an impressive 98 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.4 star rating on IMDB.
The series’ popularity has even reached the corridors of power, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer sharing with parliament his experience of watching the acclaimed series with his teenage children.