Adolescence with Jack Thorne

Where do we go and what happens next after the dust at long last settles on an experience that sent tremors through a community? That’s the question pondered in the final moments of Adolescence, the recent smash hit Netflix drama, which last night swept the 2025 Emmys. It’s also, in part, the question at the heart of our conversation today with the show’s co-writer – BAFTA-winning screenwriter and playwright Jack Thorne, who joins Al not just to discuss the show’s creation, but to wade through the impact of this show that shook Britain. 

Adolescence stirred real-life change in a way few TV shows can. It caused parents and legislators to ask important questions about the digital realms their kids disappear into behind closed doors. It’s been made available to every school pupil in Britain for free. And there are growing calls for a ban on smartphones in schools, all because of this one-take tale of a 13-year-old boy driven to unthinkable violence by corrosive content served to him on his phone. 

In the spoiler conversation you’re about to hear, Jack tells us his conflicted feelings over the show’s handling of Katie, the young girl whose death propels the show. He tells us about the fifth episode he would have loved to have written, focusing on Jamie’s friends. And you’ll also hear about Jack’s research into real-life online misogyny, preying upon the insecurities of boys like Jamie.

Script Apart is hosted by Al Horner and produced by Kamil Dymek. Follow us on Instagram, or email us on thescriptapartpodcast@gmail.com.

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