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Netflix reveals secret behind 'impossible' one-take shot in 'best drama' that's left viewers baffled

Home> Film & TV> Netflix

Updated 12:48 18 Mar 2025 GMTPublished 10:13 18 Mar 2025 GMT

Netflix reveals secret behind 'impossible' one-take shot in 'best drama' that's left viewers baffled

Everyone is talking about Netflix's new limited series Adolescence

Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton

If you're a Netflix subscriber, then there's a good chance you'll have heard all about Adolescence.

The new British limited series dropped on the streaming platform last week and has shook viewers to their very core.

Stephen Graham (best known for Peaky Blinders, Venom, and Snatch) stars as Eddie, whose teenage son Jamie is charged with murder.

The four-part series is being raved about by all who have seen it and has an almost-perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.

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Aside form the captivating storyline, one thing that's really got people talking is the fact that Adolescence's episodes were all filmed in one-shot — an extremely difficult thing to achieve.

In fact, it's so hard that the likes of Top Gear and Clarkson's Farm star Jeremy Clarkson dubbed it 'impossible'.

He penned on Twitter after watching the hit Netflix programme: "Adolescence. The camera at the end of show 2. How on Earth did they do that? It’s impossible."

And now all has been revealed.

The part in particular that's left people like Clarkson mind-blown is when Ryan, one of Jamie's friends, bolts out of a classroom window when approached by DI Luke Bascombe (portrayed by Toy Boy favorite, Ashley Walters).

Stephen Graham's on-screen son Jamie is accused of murder in Adolescence (Netflix)
Stephen Graham's on-screen son Jamie is accused of murder in Adolescence (Netflix)

In the scene, Ryan jumps out of the ground floor window and runs through the school grounds all while being chased by Bascombe.

Then, after Ryan's caught, Bascombe drives off with his son who is a student at the same school, before the shot moves over to the murder site where Eddie Miller (Graham) is putting flowers down.

Replying to Clarkson's tweet, Netflix UK & Ireland shared an interview it conducted with Jack Thorne, the writer and creator of the show, and Matthew Lewis, the director of photography on Adolescence.

Thorne said: "The collaboration on this show, a lot of was technical but the surprising thing was using technical to free us."

"I'd written in this chase sequence," the creator continued, "and this chase sequence took Bascombe and this boy beside the murder site, and the camera was going to travel back on its own back to the school."

Cutting to Lewis, he further divulged: "That moment would have almost felt like a video game walking down the street. I think it would just take the audience away from what the piece is."

Thorne then went on to explain how they worked out a way to 'make the camera fly'.

The Adolescence team used a drone to film the shot (Netflix)
The Adolescence team used a drone to film the shot (Netflix)

The interview proceeds to show Lewis holding the camera while filming before it's effortlessly attached to a drone so that it could follow the car and then fly over to the murder site.

Mind blown? Mine too.

Featured Image Credit: Netflix

Topics: Adolescence, Film and TV, Jeremy Clarkson, Netflix, Rotten Tomatoes, Stephen Graham

Niamh Shackleton
Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton is an experienced journalist for UNILAD, specialising in topics including mental health and showbiz, as well as anything Henry Cavill and cat related. She has previously worked for OK! Magazine, Caters and Kennedy.

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@niamhshackleton

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