EXCLUSIVE: Brad Pitt‘s production company Plan B Entertainment has revealed that it is in early talks to make what could become a second season of Adolescence after the series’ success on Netflix.
In their first interview since Adolescence went off like a firework last month, Plan B co-presidents Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner told Deadline that they are speaking to director Philip Barantini about the “next iteration” of the show, which starred and was co-created by Stephen Graham.
Gardner said they are thinking about how they can “widen the aperture, stay true to its DNA, [and] not be repetitive,” but she did not wish to reveal too much about their plans. Kleiner added that they hope Graham and Jack Thorne, the British writer behind Adolescence, can re-team on the project. Warp Films and Matriarch Productions were the co-producers.
The conversations are likely to be welcomed by Netflix and the millions who have watched the series, which tells the story of a 13-year-old teenager (played by breakout Owen Cooper) accused of stabbing a female classmate to death after being drawn into the online manosphere. Adolescence now sits in fourth place in Netflix’s Most Popular English-Language TV list after amassing 114.5M views since its March 13 release.
Gardner and Kleiner said they were grateful for the success, arguing that it showed that a “seemingly small, localized, emotional story” can resonate around the world. Gardner said male violence has been a societal issue for many years, and they were “humbled” to have found a key to unlock the story in the minds of millions. She added that Barantini’s one-take method was an essential ingredient.
“Phil’s style of doing the episodes in one take is not a gimmick. It’s very much in conversation with the subject matter,” Gardner said. “In early conversations with Stephen and Jack, they were talking about how it’s too easy to look away. You can look away from the school, you can look away from the police station, you can look away from the counseling, you can look away from the family. In that kind of prismatic way of viewing, you can duck the issue. So our theory was, what would happen if you couldn’t look away? And will that make the subject embed in you in a different way? That was a thrilling thing.”
Plan B got the ball rolling on Adolescence after watching Boiling Point, Barantini’s one-take feature about a chef, played by Graham, in the throes of a personal and professional meltdown. Kleiner said he knew quickly that Plan B wanted to experiment with the form in a TV series. Pitt also brought into the idea and was only too happy to reunite with his friend Graham after they worked together on Guy Ritchie’s 2000 feature Snatch. “Brad is a massive fan of Stephen’s,” Kleiner said.
(L-R) Plan B’s Jeremy Kleiner, Dede Gardner, and Brad Pitt
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for Netflix
As Thorne revealed in a Deadline interview last month, Plan B first pitched the series to Amazon Prime Video under a development deal with the streamer. Kleiner was diplomatic about the reasons why Amazon passed on a series that has blown up on one of its biggest rivals: “I want to be grateful to them for their good faith in helping us get underway.”
Pitt was an enthusiastic advocate, sitting in on pitch meetings with Amazon and providing input on Thorne’s pilot script, which Kleiner said the Fight Club star was “blown away” by. “He was part of the energy, drive, and impetus to get the thing off the ground,” Kleiner added.
Netflix was the first stop after Amazon’s rejection. Plan B was keen to work with Netflix UK chief Anne Mensah after they collaborated at Comcast-owned Sky on Jude Law and Naomie Harris’ series Third Day. Mensah is on something of a hot streak at Netflix, having delivered other hits including Baby Reindeer, The Gentlemen, and Fool Me Once.
Kleiner said Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos took an interest in Adolescence. He told Plan B last November that he had watched the series and was “personally moved by the show.” The Netflix chief also wrote an Instagram herogram when Adolescence premiered — a courtesy he does not extend to every new title.
Gardner said she sensed the show was a hit when her daughter showed her the TikTok trend of Moms reacting to Adolescence. The series has stirred political conversation in the UK, where Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it “hit home hard” in his own household. Gardner said it was refreshing to hear a politician talking about watching TV.
So where does the show fit in Plan B’s canon of content? The company is no stranger to confronting societal issues, be it the #MeToo movement with She Said or institutional racism in Nickel Boys, but Gardner and Kleiner said this is not always the intention.
Gardner said “complicity” is one theme she would highlight in Plan B’s output. Kleiner said the company embraces a “level of ambition” that presented itself through the one-take method on Adolescence. “Look at the incredible power of UK television. There’s a way things are made [there] that you know, we want to do more of, for sure. Not just in the UK but across Europe,” he added.
