A previous version of this article was published on HuffPost UK earlier this year.
The new Netflix drama Teen Years had the whole world talking when it premiered in March — and with good reason.
As you’d expect, this has led many viewers to question exactly how it all came together.
While the crew has already lifted the lid on some of the specifics, Netflix posted a thread on X shortly after the show’s release, with answers to some of the most frequently asked questions from fans.
After the teen’s clean sweep at the 2025 Emmys, we’re reviewing some of the specifics of how the show’s most impressive sequences came about…
First of all, was he really shot in one take as a teenager?
In a word, yes. While we already know it took months of planning and two weeks worth of rehearsals — plus a week of shooting each episode, which consisted of the required two per day — Netflix went into more detail in its X thread.
So, while we know that 10 full takes were filmed during that five-day period, that doesn’t take into account the many takes that were started and then abandoned due to various errors.
Netflix also revealed that while the episode used the first day of filming, every other episode in the series used the last time every time.
If adolescence is shot in one take, how did the crew stay behind the camera the whole time?
Well, it turns out they didn’t.
Netflix revealed that the crew members were disguised as extras, so that if they were to step forward when they got in front of the camera, it wouldn’t ruin the illusion for viewers watching at home.
However, each episode was also carefully choreographed, so everyone knew where they needed to be at every moment of the hour-long shoot.
And what happened if one of the actors or crew members messed up while filming adolescence?
Apparently it depended on how big the mistake was.
Netflix said: ” In some cases they continued, but often they were abandoned altogether.”
“No pressure!” they retorted.
And what about that drone shot at the end of the teenager’s second episode?
Before the show premiered, it was revealed that after the camera was repeatedly passed between the director and cinematographer, it was then invisibly trapped in a drone at the end of the second episode to allow for this incredible aerial shot.
In Netflix’s behind-the-scenes behind-the-scenes footage, they also included a photo of exactly what it looked like, revealing: “[Director of Photography] secures the camera and follows a schoolgirl to the traffic lights in a wide shot as she leaves at the end of the school day.”
“Before she crosses the road, the team attaches a camera to a drone, which then flies 0.3 miles over the site to the murder scene, where it lands on a camera operator and handle crew, who smoothly grab the camera and move to a close-up of Stephen Graham.”
Anything else?
Loads! Check out more Netflix news below:
Adolescence is available to stream now on Netflix.
