Given that he is undoubtedly one of the most talented actors in the UK, if Adolescence was your introduction to Stephen Graham then you have an embarrassment of riches to catch up on. Almost every project Graham works on is socially-conscious, thought provoking and crafted to challenge its audience – even if most of them are incredibly depressing too.
As an artist, Graham is unafraid to tackle subjects a lot of actors and directors take pains to avoid, and his body of work speaks for itself. We can't promise any of the shows on this list make for light or particularly fun viewing, but they are definitely worth your time. And if it all gets too much, just pop on Matilda the Musical, which happens to star Graham too.
The eight best Stephen Graham shows
1. This is England '86, '88 and '90, Channel 4 and Apple TV+
The 2006 cult film This Is England by Shane Meadows was met with widespread critical acclaim and features one of the best ensemble casts in TV history. Set in 1983, it sparked the creation of three spin-off mini-series set in '86, '88 and '90, all of which star Stephen Graham in one of his breakthrough roles as the first-wave skinhead, Andrew 'Combo' Gascoigne.
Graham plays the show's main antagonist, a working class man drawn in by the National Front who finds himself involved in gang violence. This Is England follows the same disaffected group of friends over the course of a decade as their morals are tested, their political views change and their relationships ebb and flow. It is as moving and life affirming as it is heartbreaking, and at the end of its run The Guardian described it as 'one of the most compelling TV series of the age'.
2. Adolescence, Netflix
No one could have anticipated the reaction to Adolescence, the four-part drama about a 13-year-old boy charged with the murder of his female classmate, when it landed on Netflix in March. Graham plays the boy's father, Eddie Miller, as the family deals with the aftermath of Jamie's arrest.
Co-written by Graham and Jack Thorne, and directed by Philip Barantini, the series is not based on a true story but it is inspired by a real epidemic of knife crime, the radicalisation of teenage boys online and the steady rise of misogynistic influencers like Andrew Tate. To make it even more agonising to watch, each episode was shot in real time in one continuous take. Not only is it a cinematic feat, but Adolescence has already been dubbed 'the closest thing to TV perfection in decades', and Thorne is pushing for it to be shown in schools and in parliament because 'it's crucial and this is only going to get worse'.
3. Boiling Point, BBC iPlayer
Speaking of stressful viewing, Graham and Barantini also worked together on the film and spin-off series, Boiling Point, which is another one-shot production set in a fine dining restaurant in East London. In the film, head chef Andy Jones (Graham) is dealing with a dropped hygiene rating, an overbooked service, a celebrity guest, a near-fatal allergy reaction from a guest and increasing tension in his kitchen, all while battling his own issues of addiction and depression. The film ends with him promising his ex-wife that he will go to rehab before collapsing.
The four-part series, which is equally as tense and just as impressive, picks up eight months later when Andy's former deputy Carly has started her own restaurant with the bulk of his staff. Unfortunately, things are not running smoothly for her either. Meanwhile, Andy is in recovery – both from his heart attack and his addiction to drugs and alcohol. As a review in The Evening Standard reads, 'It's an extraordinary peek behind the kitchen door, and an uncomfortable one. But as a drama, the ingredients are spot on and the execution superb.'
4. The Virtues, Channel 4
One of his more underrated works, The Virtues follows Graham's usual formula of gripping but gut-wrenching TV. Directed by Shane Meadows and co-written again with Jack Thorne, the series follows the life of Joseph (Graham) who falls into despair after his nine-year-old son leaves for Australia with his ex-wife and her new partner. With nothing to lose, Joseph walks away from his present life and boards a boat for Ireland to confront painful memories from his childhood. There, he reconnects with his sister Anna (Niamh Algar) and uncovers a history of trauma and abuse.
As always, it's a harrowing watch, but it's brilliant too.
5. The Walk-In, ITVX
You guessed it – another harrowing hit comes in at number five. This time Graham stars in Jeff Pope’s true-crime drama about the rise of neo-Nazism and the increasingly terrible situation we find ourselves in. Graham plays reformed neo-Nazi Matthew Collins who attempts to infiltrate and derail one of the UK’s most threatening far-right groups' plans to murder an MP.
This time, it is based on a true story about the activist group Hope not Hate's infiltration of National Action's foiled plot to murder the Labour MP Rosie Cooper. Jack Renshaw, the man at the helm of the real plot, has since been convicted to life imprisonment. Shortly after the series aired the documentary Nazi Hunters: The Real Walk-In was broadcast.
6. Peaky Blinders, Netflix
Honourable mention goes to Peaky Blinders, the beloved drama about a Birmingham-based gang set in the 1920s and 1930s, which stars Graham in two episodes. He played union convener Hayden Stagg, appearing in the show's sixth and final season. Stagg's part might have been small, but Graham is set to reprise his role in the upcoming Peaky Blinders film too. The film is expected to land on Netflix this year, with filming wrapping in December.
7. A Thousand Blows, Disney+
A Thousand Blows is a British historical drama series created by Steven Knight about the Forty Elephants, an all-female crime syndicate clashing with the world of illegal bare-knuckle boxing in 1880s London. Graham plays with Henry 'Sugar' Goodson, the self-declared emperor of the East End's illegal bare-knuckle boxing world.
The six-part series shows Graham in his most jacked up role to date and stars two of his Adolescence co-stars, Ashley Walters and Erin Doherty too.
8. Bodies, Netflix
Last but not least comes Bodies, the genre-blurring science fiction mystery thriller by Paul Tomalin, which is based on the 2015 DC Vertigo graphic novel of the same name by Si Spencer. It involves four detectives, four timelines and one body – spanning different time periods to solve a single crime. To save Britain's future, the detectives need to solve the murder that altered the course of history first. Graham plays Elias Mannix, an 'enigmatic political leader', who quickly becomes an integral cog in the wider the story.
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across pop culture, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things TV for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow shows with equal respect).