Actor Stephen Graham and director Phillip Barantini spoke to ITV News' Arts Editor Nina Nannar about their new drama 'Adolescence.' The series follows a 13-year-old boy who gets arrested for the murder of a classmate.
The four hour-long episodes explore themes of knife crime, toxic masculinity, incels, and the impact of the internet can have on young minds, parental influences - themes that will speak to many, many families today.
Stephen Graham said: "We wanted to put a mirror up to society and just say take a little look and see what's going on."
He pointed towards what he calls a pandemic of knife crime and said he and director Philip Barantini, came up with the idea for the drama after hearing news stories of teenage stabbings, particularly of young boys attacking girls.
Graham admitted that when he sees the news, he can be quick to judge, like many, and blame the parents. He wanted to highlight how that is not always the case.
"There was no social media in our day," added Barantini. "But there's so much out there now and it's so accessible.
"There are things that send kids down a rabbit hole and they believe that to be true. It's a scary time. I’ve got an eight-year-old daughter and I’m scared for the future."
His advice to parents is simple: "Talk to your kids."
Graham echoed that. He said one of the main aims for everyone involved in the project was to "start conversations in homes," between parents and their children about how to navigate the world today.
It takes a village to raise a child, he added.
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