NetflixAdolescence was filmed in four continuous shots, and one of the best episodes of the Netflix series nearly had to start over after a mistake unfolded. However, the quick-thinking of Jamie Miller star Owen Cooper saved the day.
This isn’t the first time the creators of the new TV show have used the technique. Co-writer and lead star Stephen Graham and director Philip Barantini previously teamed up for the 2021 movie Boiling Point, which was also filmed in one take, with no editing or cuts.
Achieving this with four hour-long episodes was no mean feat, involving a lot of planning and rehearsals – for the cast and the crew. Then, Barantini revealed, they’d “shoot it twice each day, for five days.” That’s 10 takes of the same episode, which was carried out for 12 weeks total.
Understandably, there were a few mistakes here and there, not that you’d be able to tell. When one arose in Adolescence Episode 3, Cooper and Briony’s Erin Doherty styled it out with some improvisation.
Adolescence star improvised to cover up mistake
During an appearance on the UK’s The One Show, the 15-year-old breakout star revealed that he accidentally yawned during his character’s chat with child psychologist Briony. Rather than bring production to a halt, Doherty improvised, asking, “Am I boring you?”
“In Episode 3, it was the second take of the day – we do two takes a day. So it was the second take and, you know, I was tired so a yawn came to me,” he explained.
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“Then Erin did an amazing line. She said, ‘Am I boring you?’ And that took me back and it made me smile because it wasn’t in the script. I wasn’t expecting that at all… but it was amazing.”
Even though it wasn’t in the script, this interaction felt natural to the scene. After asking him that question, Jamie smirks to himself.
It’s a subtle but effective way of showing his defiance, highlighting his lack of respect for her authority, as well as his struggle to engage with the emotional depth of their session.
As said by TikToker Indigo Reports, “The star of Adolescence has revealed the secret way they sneakily covered up a mistake while filming in just one take.”
She went on to highlight quotes from the director about the scene in question, with Barantini telling Variety, “There was one moment in one take, which I never asked him to do, where he’s talking to Erin and the camera’s on him and he just starts yawning.
Netflix“Everyone behind the camera was going, ‘Oh my god, he’s never done that before!’ Erin being Erin just said to him, ‘I’m sorry, am I boring you?’ And he had this cheeky smile on his face.”
This is made all the more amazing by the fact that this is Cooper’s first major acting role, having only thought about entering this world a couple of years back.
Taking to Reddit, one Adolescence viewer wrote, “The acting was amazing. That child actor is outrageously talented in a way I’m not sure I’ve seen before. The episode with the psychologist? OMG. Just next level acting.”
“The way he could switch emotions between scared, angry, and psychopathic in an instant was astounding to me,” another agreed. “And now I also see it was his first ever acting role – holy crap he has a gift!”
In reference to Episode 3, a third added, “The acting from both of them was absolutely fantastic. Possibly the best episode of TV I’ve watched so far this year.”
VFX used in Netflix series for one minor moment
NetflixAnother behind-the-scenes fact has emerged. VFX was used for one very minor detail: the moment the camera appears to pass through a closed window in Episode 2.
One of the most technically impressive scenes in Adolescence is the moment Jamie’s friend Ryan makes a run for it, with DI Luke Bascombe (Ashley Walters) chasing him down.
Ryan jumps out of an open window at school, while the camera appears to pass through a closed pane like a ghost. When the camera pans back, both windows are closed.
In a conversation with Variety, cinematographer Matthew Lewis explained, “The VFX is stuff for when we went through a window in one of the episodes. We couldn’t do that in real life.
“But there was no stitching of takes together – it was one entire shot in its entirety, whether I wanted it to be or not.”
For more on the show, read about the real-life events that inspired Adolescence, why a Season 2 most likely won’t happen, and the best TV shows of 2025 so far.
