Netflix Adolescence bags historic UK TV ratings record as huge scale of drama’s viewing figures unveiled
Netflix drama series Adolescence has made UK television history by becoming the first streaming show to top the weekly TV ratings chart.
The hard-hitting crime drama pulled in 6.45 million viewers for its first episode in its opening week, according to ratings provider Barb.
This landmark achievement demonstrates the growing power of streaming platforms in 2025, with Adolescence managing to outperform traditional broadcast heavyweights.
The series, co-created by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne, has dominated the global cultural conversation since its release on March 13.
Each of the programme’s four episodes was shot in one continuous take, with the innovative filming technique helping to draw viewers to the gritty drama.
The show examines themes including incel culture, online misogyny and social media bullying.
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The second episode of Adolescence was watched by 5.9 million viewers, securing the second spot in the UK’s top 50 shows for the week of March 10 to March 16.
Episode three ranked fifth with 5.1 million views, while the fourth and final episode came in ninth with 4.65 million views.
These impressive figures allowed the Netflix series to beat popular BBC One programmes including The Apprentice and Death In Paradise, which drew around 5.8 million viewers each.
The streaming drama also outperformed ITV1’s The Bay and BBC gameshow Gladiators.
Even traditional soap staples like Emmerdale, EastEnders and Coronation Street couldn’t match the viewing figures of Adolescence.
The Netflix crime drama follows the story of 13-year-old Jamie Miller, played by newcomer Owen Cooper, who is accused of killing a girl in his class named Katie.
Stephen Graham stars as Eddie Miller, Jamie’s father, who sees armed police burst into his home to arrest his son.
Eddie is then chosen as Jamie’s appropriate adult, accompanying him during police interviews and learning the extent of what his son is accused of doing.
The programme explores the aftermath of the crime and its wider impact on Jamie, his family and the community. Ashley Walters and Erin Doherty also feature in the cast alongside Graham and Cooper.
The series was created by Graham and writer Jack Thorne, with each episode focusing on different perspectives of the crime’s aftermath.
Adolescence has secured the biggest audience for any streaming TV show in the UK in a single week, breaking records previously held by other Netflix hits.
The drama surpassed Fool Me Once, which was watched by 6.3 million people in its first week when released in January 2024.
Globally, Adolescence topped the charts in its first week with 24 million views and almost 100 million hours watched.
The series now ranks among the most-watched programmes of 2025, though it still falls behind BBC’s The Traitors, Call The Midwife and the documentary Gavin & Stacey: A Fond Farewell.
Critics have lavished praise on the series and the show currently holds an impressive 99 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Adolescence has prompted a national conversation around online safety, with Graham and Thorne accepting an invitation to a parliamentary meeting on the subject by Labour MP Josh MacAlister.
Thorne has advocated for the show to be shown in Parliament and schools, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer indicating support during Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Prime Minister revealed he watched the programme with his children, adding that “this violence carried out by young men, influenced by what they see online, is a real problem, it’s abhorrent, and we have to tackle it”.
During an interview with BBC Two’s Newsnight, Thorne said he hopes “we can use this moment to provoke this Government to consider quite serious change”.
He referenced Australia’s social media ban for young children, suggesting: “I would extend it further, it is about gaming too, and it’s about getting inside all these different systems.”