Why Adolescence Struck a Nerve

If you haven’t watched the Netflix limited series Adolescence, you’ve probably heard people talking about it. It’s a four-hour-long gut punch of a crime saga from the UK that dissects the complex social and family dynamics behind the murder of a teenage girl, Katie, by her high school classmate, Jamie. The show has been heralded for its spellbinding acting and the bold choice of using a single uninterrupted tracking shot in each episode. It’s also a remarkable feat of good timing, emerging into the swirl of a conversation about kids and social media, and the vulnerability of boys to extremist online subcultures that promote a toxic brand of masculinity. Bloomberg Businessweek editors Brad Stone and Reyhan Harmanci talked with the show’s co-creator Jack Thorne, who’s found himself speaking as an authority on these issues and on the economic and cultural insecurity felt by many men in Western society. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Businessweek: One of the big themes of the show is how absolutely foreign this generation’s kids feel to their parents, who are trying to protect them. Probably every generation of adults has felt that way to an extent, but did you approach this show with the feeling that maybe technology has widened this gap, particularly for boys?