Where was Adolescence filmed? Locations featured in the shocking Netflix drama

If you've been gripped by Adolescence on Netflix, you're probably wondering where the series was filmed

Netflix's Adolescence is being dubbed 'difficult but necessary' viewing, offering insight into the frightening world of online misogyny boys are being exposed to, that their parents might have no idea about.

Leaving viewers asking how much of the series is based on a true story, Stephen Graham's character Eddie, is thrown into a world where that very culture could've caused his child to commit a terrible crime.

While on screen the frenetic action plays out in one shot sequences, much like Graham's 2021 hit film Boiling Point, those tuning in aren't only interested in the incredible acting, but also the locations found in the show.

Where was Adolescence filmed?

The majority of Adolescence was filmed in Pontefract in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire. Interestingly, the production team waited until the role of Jamie had been cast before deciding where to actually film the series.

"We knew it was going to be set somewhere in the North of England," explains director Philip Barantini, adding, "And we also knew it would be from somewhere around wherever our Jamie was from - in this case near Warrington - because it would have been unfair to make him do an accent."

While occasional real locations were used for filming, the cast and crew set up at Production Park, a studio facility near Wakefield, where purpose built sets were created to make the one shot filming technique easier - filming lasted for six months.

Mark Herbert, joint CEO of WARP Films, said, "The series posed a major challenge for us with the one-shot element, so we needed a studio space that could match our technical needs, but also provide a home for the crew and actors during the whole process."

One of the studios housed an "extensive set build", and the police station seen in the series made up a large part of this. Some external shots depicting the Miller house were filmed just a few minutes from the studio - these were thought to have been filmed at Carr View in South Kirkby, Pontefract.

It was important for the studios to be near enough to the real locations to enable the cameras to travel between them in real time. For some of this movement, drones were used.

During the final moments of Episode 2, a chase sequence occurs in which characters run from school and past the murder site.

The crew came up with the idea to attach the camera to a drone, with script writer Jack Thorne explaining, "It was an example of the technical meeting the story and finding a fusion which is actually better than anything the story had come up with on its own."

According to The Star, another real location used in the series included the school used for the fictional Bruntwood Academy.

It's suggested these scenes were filmed at Minsthorpe Community College, in the West Yorkshire town of South Elmsall, with further scenes filmed in the car park of the nearby Minsthorpe Leisure Centre.

Speaking to Variety about shooting the episodes in one take, breakout star Owen Cooper (Jamie) shared his initial trepidation at filming this way. "When Phil told me about the one-shot thing, I thought he was just talking about like one episode, or one quarter of an episode," the actor shares.

He concluded, "But then he said all four episodes are being shot in one take. And I immediately thought I’d never, ever be able to do this. But everyone helped me through it - Phil, Erin, Ashley, Stephen. So I’d definitely do one shot again."