Stephen Graham accidentally hints at Adolescence’s future after Bafta TV awards sweep

Adolescence star Stephen Graham seems to have mistakenly revealed that a new project is in the works after the major success of the Netflix show.

The megahit explores toxic masculinity and the manosphere through the lens of the arrest of 13-year-old Jamie (Owen Cooper) for the murder of a female classmate.

It is one of Netflix’s biggest ever hits – the second most-watched English language drama globally – and has been a mainstay of awards season for the past year, securing breakout star Owen an Emmy, Golden Globe and Bafta.

The rest of the main cast, including Ashley Walters, Christine Tremarco, Erin Doherty and Stephen (also a writer and executive producer), as well as co-creator Jack Thorne, have also enjoyed an acclaimed year.

After winning major prizes such as supporting actor, supporting actress, lead actor and best limited drama at the 2026 Bafta TV awards, the show’s award run has ended on a high note – with more questions than ever over its future.

Although the cast and crew have been tight-lipped about a potential second season, Stephen appears to have implied something new is in the works.

He attended the winners conference alongside his wife and producing partner Hannah Walters, and his fellow cast and crew.

The iconic British actor was asked: ‘There’s no Adolescence 2, but where do you go from here? Does this inspire you to make projects?’

Speaking to Metro and other publications, he replied: ‘Do you want me to… well, yeah, there’s something in development right now which is… is it public?’

He was quickly shut down by the others on stage, who said ‘no, no, no’ as he diverted the conversation to co-star Ashley’s new movie coming out later this year, his directorial debut, Animol, which explores masculinity in the juvenile prison system.

Of course, Stephen’s faux pas neither confirmed nor denied whether there was a second Adolescence season coming or an entirely new project in a similar vein, but we know something is brewing on the horizon.

We’ve heard very little about the show’s future over the months.

In April 2025, Deadline reported that the production company behind Adolescence was in early talks about the ‘next iteration’.

Plan B co-president said they were hoping to ‘widen the aperture, stay true to its DNA [and] not be repetitive’ with plans to bring Stephen and Jack back on board.

Since then, near radio silence. But, in January, when asked about the next instalment, Stephen said: ‘I cannot answer that question because it’s somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind and Jack’s mind, and we’ll pull it out in three or four years, so stay tuned.’

Whether the project Stephen mentioned is in development is linked to what he has so far teased remains to be seen, but his latest remarks are the most encouraging sign yet that something could be happening sooner than later.

As for his Bafta, the eight-time TV award nominee finally bagged the coveted award.

In his acceptance speech, he said: ‘We’re not digging holes, we’re not digging ditches, we’re not saving lives, but we have the opportunity to tell the human condition, and we have the obligation to tell beautiful stories and we need to keep that going.’

Adolescence is available to stream on Netflix. The Bafta TV Awards 2026 is available to catch up on BBC iPlayer.

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