What issue do The Pitt and Adolescence address in their shows?

2025 is proving to be a rather great year for shows as Netflix’s Adolescence and Max’s The Pitt have turned out to be two of the most intensely thought-provoking series that viewers got to enjoy, and not even half of April has passed yet. Both shows, while thematically quite different, have a common intersection point, which is the male rage and how it affects the world at large.

In a world that is now heavily influenced by social media trends and gurus, it indeed becomes difficult for parents to know what exactly their kids are up to. This forms the central plot point of Adolescence, as 13-year-old Jamie Miller is accused of stabbing his teenage classmate, which seems absurd initially but gradually, with the revelation of more information, turns out to be something that actually happened.

What is more shocking than the incident itself is the reason behind Jamie’s act and how the clues of tension between Katie and James were all over their social media posts but none of the adults could decipher it simply because they are not familiar with how the current generation operates.

The Pitt, on the other hand, deals with a huge number of violent cases since it is a medical drama but the case dealing with teenager David Saunders turns out to be somewhat similar in theme to that of Jamie. When David’s mother discovers that her son has been listing the names of girls in his school, she brings him to the hospital by tricking him, about which he is clearly not pleased.

In their own different ways, both The Pitt and Adolescence show how mental health issues of growing male children are often overlooked and what violent outcomes that might bring out.

The Pitt and Adolescence both address the issue of growing male rage

In a world where teenage boys are increasingly influenced by the likes of Andrew Tate, the extent of male rage and its outburst are becoming scarier by the day. Men, who do not have an outlet to talk about their feelings, often show their frustration online.

Teenage boys, who are followers of Andrew Tate or are aware of the kind of worldview that he propagates, have somehow been led to believe that women can be their punching bags and that is the only acceptable way of bringing out their rage.

This mentality is clearly depicted in Adolescence where, when it finally becomes clear that Katie was bullying Jamie on social media and calling him an incel, Jamie's response was the violent act of stabbing her. It is also revealed that Jamie had asked Katie out but she simply said no to him and hinted that a boy like him would not find women who would go out with him.

This rubs Jamie the wrong way and he takes the extreme step of stabbing her. While Katie’s bullying him was not at all justified, Jamie’s reaction could have been better if he had someone to talk to.

Women saying no to men is not a concept that sits well with men even now, and that is what happens here. However, if Jamie could talk to someone more sensible than him about his conflicting feelings toward Katie, the whole tragedy could have perhaps been avoided.

In The Pitt, the episode that shows the teenage boy David bringing his mother Theresa in the hospital deals with a similar issue. However, here the parent is aware of the problems that her son is going through and thus took the drastic step of poisoning herself so David has to come to the hospital along with her.

As Theresa found out that David has been making a list of girls in his school, she gets concerned and after they arrive at the hospital, the doctors Robby and Cassie McKay differ in their approach in dealing with the situation.

While Robby tries to make David open up about his intentions and thoughts behind them in a way that would not require them to involve the law enforcement, Cassie thinks the police should be reported so that no unwarranted situation takes place.

David gets clearly frustrated as he realizes that his mother tricked him and he might have to be admitted to the psych ward. He even flees the hospital but then comes back to check if Theresa is okay.

Seeing the doctors trying their best to deal with a situation that is difficult for any professional, one would be reminded of Jamie’s scene with the therapist in Adolescence where his whole attitude appears to be way too threatening for a 13-year-old boy and also brings out the frustration that he had to deal with on his own because he did not have anyone to talk to.

In their own ways, both The Pitt and Adolescence talk about the alarming issue of men's mental health and offer a commentary on how important it is for parents or other adults to have an idea about their teenage children’s lives to ensure that they are not suddenly hit with unexpected tragedies.

Adolescence can be streamed on Netflix and The Pitt is streaming on Max.

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