Senescence 

Following the controversial series Adolescence which divided critics, undeterred, Netflix have released a new mini-series Senescence which, as the name suggests, portrays the issue of toxic masculinity at the other end of the age spectrum. Adolescence sparked controversy. While it was lauded by the Guardianisti and left-leaning politicians, it was panned by more conservative-leaning commentators.

The British crime drama premiered on Netflix on March 13, 2025. The series centres on Jamie Miller, a 13-year-old boy arrested for the murder of his classmate, Katie Leonard. The narrative delves into the events leading up to the crime, exploring themes such as online radicalization, incel culture, and the impact of social media on teenagers. Each of the four episodes is uniquely filmed in a single continuous take, enhancing the immersive storytelling.

The series begins with a police raid at the Miller family home, resulting in Jamie’s arrest. As the investigation unfolds, it is revealed that Jamie had been subjected to cyberbullying and had engaged with online communities associated with incel culture. These factors contribute to understanding his psychological state and the motivations behind his actions. The show portrays the profound impact of these events on Jamie’s family, the victim’s loved ones, and the broader community.

Labour MPs demanded that Adolescence be shown in all schools, one Labour MP mistaking it for a documentary as opposed to a drama, due to their concerns about ‘toxic masculinity’. However, Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Sceptic and founder of the Free Speech Union Lord Young of Acton described it on Spectator TV as ‘hooey’, claiming in his Spectator column that it ‘demonised white working-class boys’.

Netflix’s bold reimagining of adolescence takes a radical—and somewhat arthritic—turn in Senescence, a gritty four-part drama following 78-year-old Geoffrey Miller; a cantankerous widower arrested for the murder of his bingo partner, Doris Leonard, over a disputed call of ‘house!’ and a stolen Werther’s Original.

Miller appears to be just an ordinary pensioner. He suffers from the ‘three i’s’: incontinence, impotence, and incredulity at anything ‘new-fangled’, such as remote controls and tumble driers. He had a long and stable marriage, has a loving family and is regularly visited by his children and grandchildren.

But somewhere deep in Miller’s psyche, presumably the result of decades of exposure to the male sex hormone testosterone, there lurks a dark side. It is just another day at the bingo hall, the caller is giving it large with ‘two obese through no fault of their own ladies, eighty-eight!’, ‘heteronormative cis-gendered person alive, five!’ and ‘dancing non-binary person, seventeen!’ Miller is one number away from calling ‘house!’ when Doris stands up, waving her bingo card and claims the day’s takings.

Miller is incensed. He challenges the call, but Doris refuses to let him see her card and is duly handed a cheque for £25. Miller follows her home, pushes Doris into a blind alley and, in a shower of dentures, incontinence pads and hearing aids, he bludgeons her to death with his walking stick. He turns out the contents of Doris’s handbag and retrieves, what he believes to be, his stolen Werther’s Original. All this transpires in flashbacks.

The series opens with a police raid on Geoffrey’s bungalow during Wheel of Fortune. Startled mid-snooze, he is carted off in his dressing gown, still clutching a half-eaten digestive biscuit. The story unfolds via seamless one-take episodes filmed entirely on a mobility scooter-mounted camera, which gives viewers an unblinking look at the slow, meandering horror of a retirement gone rogue.

What sets Senescence apart is its daring exploration of themes rarely touched in modern television—pension envy, late-onset bingo addiction, and the psychological impact of daytime TV reruns. The once mild-mannered Geoffrey becomes radicalized not through online forums, but a toxic draughts club where conspiracy theories about the local council’s waste collection schedule run rampant.

Stephen Graham gives a tour de force performance as Geoffrey’s son Eddie, torn between loyalty and the sinking suspicion that his dad really did kill Doris. Flashbacks to Geoffrey’s pre-murder antics include tense moments like forgetting why he walked into the kitchen and his nocturia induced wanderings, when he catches glimpses of himself in the bathroom mirror and recoils in horror at what he sees.

The show climaxes in a dramatic courtroom scene, where Geoffrey claims temporary insanity brought on by a missing hearing aid and a botched hip replacement. It’s both tragic and hilarious—especially when he mistakes the judge for his old army buddy and offers him a mint.

Like its predecessor Adolescence, Senescence has also divided opinions. Sir Keir Starmer insisted the film be shown in all nursing homes, old age pensioners’ clubs and bingo halls to fight ‘geriatric misogyny’. He concluded an impassioned speech with ‘…after all, this is precisely the kind of thing our Assisted Dying Bill was designed to end.’ Lord Young of Acton used his maiden speech in the House of Lords to decry yet another attempt by Netflix to ‘lecture the nation on toxic masculinity’.

Senescence is not just a cautionary tale of what happens when elderly rage meets unlimited broadband—it’s a searing indictment of how society overlooks our older generations… until they strike.

Roger Watson is a retired academic, editor and writer. He is a columnist with Unity News Network and writes regularly for a range of conservative journals including The Salisbury Review and The European Conservative. He has travelled and worked extensively in the Far East and the Middle East. He lives in Kingston upon Hull, UK.

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