Chilling new-to-Netflix drama A Mother's Son drawing comparisons with Adolescence
The two crime dramas are linked by a theme of suspected young killers
A Mother’s Son – new to Netflix this November – is a chilling must-see two-parter for fans of the streamer’s acclaimed drama Adolescence, featuring an equally impressive cast.
Originally airing across two consecutive September nights in 2012, the mini-series was created by Chris Lang, now best-known for ITV’s exemplary crime drama Unforgotten.
A Mother’s Son is now temporarily available to a new audience on the streaming giant – watch it while you can!
Here’s everything you need to know about A Mother’s Son on Netflix, from plot and episodes to that stellar cast and filming locations.
A Mother’s Son on Netflix: What’s it about?
The crime drama centres on the murder of schoolgirl Lorraine Mullary – which is where the Adolescence echoes begin – in the sleepy market town of East Lee, Suffolk.
Mum Rosie – adjusting to life with a newly-blended family and four kids to juggle – begins to suspect her teenage son Jamie’s movements on the night of Lorraine’s death. When she finds a bloodstained pair of trainers hidden in his bedroom, she begins to fear his involvement.
While the police investigation rumbles on, relationships in their recently-merged family become fraught. Jamie looks to dad David for guidance. But Rosie cannot get rid of the niggling notion that her son could be guilty of a heinous crime.
Hermione Norris, Martin Clunes and Nicola Walker lead A Mother’s Son cast
Hermione Norris plays the main role of Rosie Cutler, who fears her boy Jamie might’ve killed a local girl in the woods.
“I spent a lot of time in tears,” the now 58-year-old, from Paddington, told Daily Express of her filming experience.
“It was quite a vital requirement for the job, as Rosie has to fight with her suspicions that her son might be responsible for a murder. She also has to face how her new relationship with Ben is going to sustain this level of horror.
“It asks a lot of questions about what you would do under those circumstances. I pray I never experience that kind of dilemma. I thought about it a lot, how I would react as a mother under similar circumstances, but I don’t think you know until you are there.”
As for where you’ve seen Hermione on screen before, the best bet is Cold Feet. For nine series she played the character Karen Marsden.
Her other meaty roles include DCI Carol Jordan in crime drama Wire in the Blood, MI6 agent Ros Myers in Spooks, and Beatrice Kingdom in comedy drama Kingdom (which co-starred Celebrity Traitors favourite Stephen Fry). She also played Dr Vivien Lake in the fifth series of Luther.
Martin Clunes plays Ben in A Mother’s Son
Unstoppable British actor Martin Clunes plays Ben Banks in the cast of A Mother’s Son. Rosie and Ben join their two families together after their marriages break down.
Martin Clunes, now 63, is one of Wimbledon’s proudest sons and has been a televisual mainstay for as long as we can remember.
Martin’s earliest success came as Gary in the sitcom Men Behaving Badly, opposite Harry Enfield, Neil Morrissey and Caroline Quentin. The comedy aired for six series in total, having debuted in 1992. Men Behaving Badly won the first-ever National Television Award for Situation Comedy.
For 18 years, the star was the face of ITV medical comedy-drama Doc Martin, while also headlining Reggie Perrin, Manhunt, and this year’s Out There.
Nicola Walker is a cop again in a second Chris Lang drama
Nicola Walker plays DC Sue Upton, who is tasked with unlocking the mystery of Lorraine’s tragic death.
The actress is an Olivier Award-winning actress best recognised for portraying DCI Cassie Stuart in Chris Lang’s Unforgotten, and Hannah Stern in The Split.
Born in Stepney, the 55-year-old’s career credits highlight a penchant for detecting. In Touching Evil, she appeared alongside Robson Green as DI Susan Taylor.
In Prisoners’ Wives she played DCI Jo Fontaine. Another Spooks alumnus, Nicole played Ruth Evershed in the BBC spy series.
DI Annika Strandhed (in Annika), Gillian Greenwood (Last Tango in Halifax), and Sharon Franklin (Babylon) are other noteworthy characters.
Who else is in A Mother’s Son cast?
- Doctor Who’s Paul McGann appears as Rosie’s former husband David Cutler.
- Skins actor Alexander Arnold appears as Jamie Cutler.
- The Serpent star Ellie Bamber is Olivia ‘Livvy’ Cutler.
- Screw star Jake Davies is Rob Banks.
- Catherine the Great’s Antonia Clarke is Jess Banks.
- Juliet Yorke is Lorraine Mullary (in her only significant TV role).
- Shameless star Annabelle Apsion is Kay Mullary.
- Doctors actor Charles Daish plays DCI Thomas McCleish.
A Mother’s Son reviews
When A Mother’s Son first aired, this dark two-parter was deemed “tense”, “absorbing” and “thrilling” by The Guardian, “with lots of great performances”.
The review added: “To anyone with stepfamily experience it will strike a chord. To any mother of a son it may deliver a chilly shudder – even if he is only six months old.”
The Telegraph wrote at the time: “Chris Lang’s script had a pleasing economy to it, with naturalistic dialogue that didn’t sound written. Instead of shouting for attention it let the slow-burn plot do the work.
“What really made it work was the casting of Alexander Arnold as the moody, porn-obsessed, self-conscious teenager. Even as his behaviour became more disturbing he remained oddly sympathetic and his understated performance was exactly what the script needed.”
Over at Metro, it was applauded for forensically examining modern family life.
“The dramatic two-parter bore a striking similarity to the premise of one of the latest episodes of Accused,” the publication pointed out, alluding to Jimmy McGovern’s searing anthology. “Like Accused, A Mother’s Son was at its heart about maternal love and what it can mean, or push us women to do. In terms of cast, dialogue and genuinely watchable drama, this was ITV at its best.”
Where was A Mother’s Son filmed?
The ITV series is set in the fictional town of East Lee, and was shot in and around the Suffolk-situated town of Southwold, which lies next to the North Sea, as well as Walberswick village.
Shops along Southwold’s high street provided the backdrop for a variety of scenes, with locals offered the opportunity to appear as supporting artists to maintain the illusion of reality.
Michael Palin had previously filmed East of Ipswich in the town. Matt Lucas and David Walliams later took Little Britain’s cameras there, too.
Legendary author George Orwell (of 1984 fame) spent time living with his parents in Southwold. The Children of Men writer PD James was the Baroness James of Holland Park, of Southwold.
When does it drop on Netflix?
It drops on Sunday, November 2, 2025. Both episodes clock in around the 45-minute mark.
It’s now over 13 years since the show originally broadcast on ITV. We’ll update when Netflix indicates when it will remove the drama.
How many episodes are in A Mother’s Son?
There are just two episodes and they each clock in around the 45-minute mark – which worked with the ad breaks for ITV, where it was first broadcast.
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