Spoilers ahead for Adolescence.Adolescence has become one of Netflix's most-watched shows ever, further highlighting just how much audiences enjoyed the shocking series.

Over the course of its four episodes, Adolescence explores the world of the Miller family, particularly 13-year-old Jamie, who is arrested for the murder of a classmate. By Adolescence's ending, Jamie's guilt is clear, and his family attempts to move forward, though they are left still wondering if they could have done anything different. What makes the show fascinating is the exploration of why Jamie killed Katie and how his family attempts to grapple with his actions, and Netflix's new crime series forces audiences to consider similar motives and themes.

Netflix's Secrets We Keep Is Another Fantastic Mystery Thriller Like Adolescence

Secrets We Keep Deals With Many Of The Same Themes

Adolescence is one of the best crime series that Netflix has released in recent years, and the streamer's new show, Secrets We Keep, is a fitting follow-up. The series centers on the disappearance of an au pair named Ruby from a wealthy neighborhood in Copenhagen. While Ruby's employers don't seem to care much about her disappearance, their next-door neighbor, Cecilie, begins to suspect something might be horribly wrong. As the series progresses, Cecilie uncovers details that change everything she thought she knew about those closest to her.

Though the premises themselves seem fairly different at first glance, Secrets We Keep and Adolescence are strikingly similar. Much of the series is told from the point of view of Cecilie, but from the first episode, Secrets We Keep also details the life of her son Viggo and, at times, his friend Oscar, the son of Ruby's employers. Like Adolescence, it is clear from the outset that something is off about Viggo and Oscar's friendship and the things that they are involved in, which their parents do not have time to notice.

The series grapples with the growing concerns about how masculinity is approached online and how men and boys within those circles come to view women.

Much like Adolescence, Secrets We Keep uses Viggo and Oscar to explore the dangerous troubles that plague teen boys today and how the behaviors that they are often taught in online spheres translate into the treatment of people in the real world. The series grapples with the growing concerns about how masculinity is approached online and how men and boys within those circles come to view women. At the same time, the series also deals with themes of race, class, and power, creating a mystery series that touches on timely concerns.

Secrets We Keep Gives Netflix Another Critically Acclaimed Thriller Miniseries

Netflix Has Done Well In The Crime Thriller Category

Netflix's recent crime thriller shows have proven that the streamer has found a genre in which it really excels. With Secrets We Keep and Adolescence recently added, Netflix has quite an impressive catalog of recent successes in the genre. In fact, Secrets We Keep has remained at a 100% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes since its release. Critics have particularly noted the show's ability to handle its subject matter with nuance, adding contemporary social issues to a gripping mystery plot.

Secrets We Keep is able to outline the seemingly perfect lives of its wealthy characters and immediately contrast those to the women who work for them. The layers of power and discrimination present throughout the series make it easy to see why Secrets We Keep has been so favorably reviewed. Likewise, Adolescence is rated nearly as highly at a 99% approval rating because of the skill with which many of the same topics are approached, and these shows are not the only highly-rated Netflix crime dramas.

Stephen Graham (Eddie) and Owen Cooper together (Jamie) in a police interview room in Adolescence.

The Deeper Meaning Of Adolescence’s Crime & Themes In Jamie & Eddie’s Story Explained (In Detail)

Netflix's Adolescence is a crime drama on the face of it, but it has a deeper meaning beneath the actual crime at the center of its story.

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In the past few years, the streaming service has released several other highly-rated Nordic noir crime shows, like The Glass Dome or The Chestnut Man, among others. Crime comedy series like Baby Reindeer have also been incredibly successful with audiences and are highly rated. While the genre as a whole can struggle with predictability, it seems that Netflix has thankfully avoided that issue with many of its best series, with Secrets We Keep simply marking the most recent example.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes