DZ-118: ADOLESCENCE and Tension Through Questions

Listen if you think tension only comes from plot.

In this episode, Stu and Chas delve into the cultural phenomenon of ADOLESCENCE. We try to find the craft tools that have made the show so compelling and such a catalyst for conversation.

In particular, we breakdown how the show’s emphasis on questions creates tension: not just tension through plot, but tension through character, and ultimately tension through theme.

We analsyse the show episode-by-episode, and discuss how the overall structure skilfully shifts from a plot-heavy police procedural towards a thematic-heavy melodrama and the impact that has on our experience.

We discuss how the decision to shoot the show in a series of “oners” affects the writing and what tools we can take from that to apply to our own writing (even if we’re not writing it to be a one-shot): POV characters, handovers, French scenes, emotional events, and more.

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

The absence of plot does not mean the absence of tension.

— chas

LIKE THIS EPISODE?

• Discuss with our Patrons on Patreon.
• Watch and comment on YouTube.
• Send us feedback.

Thanks to our Patrons, especially Lily, Paulo, Alexandre, Malay, Jennifer, Thomas, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis and Khrob.

→ Read the transcript for this episode.

———

CHAPTERS

• 00:00:00 – Cold Open
• 00:00:10 – Why Adolescence?
• 00:09:32 – Episode One
• 00:32:03 – Episode Two
• 00:46:59 – Episode Three
• 00:57:47 – Episode Four
• 01:19:19 – Melodrama
• 01:23:32 – Scene-level tools
• 01:52:57 – Key Learnings & Wrap Up
• 01:58:33 – Thanks to our Patreons

SHOWS

• ADOLESCENCE 1x1 — Philip Barantini (d), Jack Thorne, Stephen Graham (w)
• ADOLESCENCE 1x2 — Philip Barantini (d), Jack Thorne, Stephen Graham (w)
• ADOLESCENCE 1x3 — Philip Barantini (d), Jack Thorne, Stephen Graham (w)
• ADOLESCENCE 1x4 — Philip Barantini (d), Jack Thorne, Stephen Graham (w)

LINKS

• Watch: Crafting Adolescence's Tense One-Take Episodes with Stephen Graham via BAFTA
• Watch: The Making Of Adolescence: The One-Shot Explained
• Read: 'Adolescence' Episode 3 Script By Stephen Graham & Jack Thorne

RELATED EPISODES

• DZ-67: Writing Passive Protagonists & Melodrama
• DZ-108: The Emotional Event with Judith Weston
• DZ-101: Oners - Creating Immediacy & Anchoring Action on the Page
• DZ-70: Joker & Melodrama

———

More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons.

If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser.

We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter.

Full show notes at: https://draft-zero.com/2025/dz-118/