All articles tagged with #coming of age
Kit Connor and Joe Locke discuss Heartstopper Forever, the final film that follows Nick and Charlie into university and adulthood. They reflect on the mature, explicit moments, their expanded roles as executive producers, and the close-knit cast’s sense of family. The interview touches on the show’s impact for LGBTQ representation and the decision to end with a film, with Netflix releasing the movie on July 17.
A sharp literary review of Julie Buntin’s Famous Men that unsettles the standard coming-of-age arc by placing an aspiring writer under a famous male mentor’s influence; it traces how Will’s pursuit of Nathaniel Fellow’s world becomes a study in agency, coercive mentorship, and the ethical costs of ambition, culminating in a MeToo reckoning that reshapes her personal and artistic formation.
FX released the first trailer for Ryan Murphy’s The Shards, a Bret Easton Ellis–based coming‑of‑age drama set in 1981 Los Angeles at an elite Buckley prep school, where a mysterious new student arrives as a teen serial killer known as The Trawler hunts the city; the trailer teases sex, drugs and a missing girl as Bret’s privileged circle spirals into a darker world. The series stars Igby Rigney, with a cast that includes Wes Bentley, Kaia Gerber and Evan Rachel Wood, and debuts August 5 on FX and Hulu (Disney+ internationally).
IndieWire’s Cannes review frames Butterfly Jam as Kantemir Balagov’s English-language debut—a surreal, bittersweet immigrant coming‑of‑age drama led by Barry Keoghan as Azik. The film blends intimate Newark family dynamics with strange, fairy‑tale imagery (from insect pastries to a voyeur pelican) to explore legacy, masculinity, and ambition through Azik’s son Temir, ultimately presenting a dreamlike fable about finding strength beyond the past, with a tentative, ambiguous ending. Grade: B‑; currently seeking U.S. distribution.
Beethoven & Dinosaur’s Mixtape is a three-hour interactive homage to late-’80s/’90s adolescence that uses minigames and storytelling to evoke strong emotions, but it’s ultimately limited by a white suburban perspective and underscores the need for more diverse voices in gaming.
Pure Xbox runs a reader poll to gauge early impressions of Mixtape, a day-one Xbox Game Pass title from the makers of The Artful Escape. The piece highlights Mixtape as a teen coming-of-age, whimsical narrative adventure and asks readers if it’s as good as The Artful Escape, plus how they’re enjoying it on Game Pass. It presents a 1–10 rating scale (with options like ‘I haven’t played it yet’) and notes 217 votes so far, with comments praising the soundtrack, storytelling, and style while some readers are less sure or haven’t played it yet.
Vulture's Alison Willmore calls The Sheep Detectives a cozy English village mystery that doubles as a moving coming-of-age story for Lily, the flock's brainy leader who investigates her owner's death. Adapted from Leonie Swann's Three Bags Full by Craig Mazin and Kyle Balda, the film's CG sheep feel tangible and convey a surprising depth as it tackles mortality, grief, and memory; while not as iconically sharp as Babe, Balda's live-action debut grounds the whimsical premise in an emotionally resonant, tear-jerking core that works for both kids and adults.
Netflix’s four-episode Lord of the Flies largely preserves Golding’s WWII-era allegory about civilization vs. savagery, delivering a harrowing viewing experience driven by a uniformly strong young cast, moody on-location visuals in Malaysia, and expanded backstories that deepen motivations. It doesn’t modernize the premise, but heightens the emotional and moral stakes, making the brutality feel both raw and humane.
Amazon Prime Video’s Kevin is a chaotic yet heartfelt eight-episode animated coming-of-age about a tuxedo cat who leaves his owners for a shelter, navigating independence alongside a quirky animal ensemble in a distinctly New York setting, with a star-studded voice cast led by Jason Schwartzman and Aubrey Plaza.
Australian-born writer-director Amy Wang's Slanted uses a cosmetic-clinic twist to turn people of color white, turning the dream of an all-American ideal into a nightmare that probes immigrant families, identity, and the pressure to belong; a satirical yet visceral body-horror coming-of-age story that won the 2025 SXSW narrative feature grand jury prize.
THR unveils a first look at The Testaments, the Handmaid’s Tale sequel series on Hulu, described as a coming-of-age thriller set in Gilead. Taking place four years after the original, the show follows Agnes, the daughter of the heroine June Osborne, as she grows up under the regime and trains for life as a wife while a resistance movement gathers. Based on Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Testaments is from showrunner Bruce Miller with Ann Dowd returning as Aunt Lydia; Chase Infiniti leads the new cast. The series premieres April 8 with three episodes, followed by weekly episodes on Hulu and Disney+-bundled subscriptions.
In a Cannes profile, Alexander Skarsgård talks about his new film Pillion, a tender yet provocative story in which a young man enters a BDSM-flavored romance with a biker, directed by Harry Lighton. He explains why the project drew him in, how the intimate scenes serve the character, and how collaboration with co-star Harry Melling and a real Gay Bikers Motorcycle Club informed authenticity. He also discusses his career philosophy of taking on creatively fulfilling work over high pay and touches on upcoming projects like The Moment, Wicker, and Murderbot.
Australian director Adrian Chiarella’s Leviticus uses a supernatural curse to cast queer desire as a deadly threat in a small-town setting, following Naim and Ryan as their secret romance collides with a conversion-therapy ritual and a malevolent manifestation that only appears when they’re alone. The film blends It Follows style dread with a haunting romance, delivering sharp social commentary on homophobia without resorting to easy stereotypes, anchored by solid performances from Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen, and Mia Wasikowska. At 86 minutes it moves briskly, though the final stretch tightens its grip with a bold, bittersweet ending underscored by a Frank Ocean track, making Leviticus a standout Sundance entry seeking distribution.
A cheeky, bittersweet coming-of-age debut, Extra Geography tracks two best friends at a UK boarding school as their bond frays under ambition, envy, and first crushes; anchored by standout performances from newcomers Galaxie Clear and Marni Duggan, the film blends sharp wit with tender heartbreak, and is premiering at Sundance with distribution hoped for.
Jennette McCurdy, famed for I'm Glad My Mom Died, releases her debut novel Half His Age, a provocative Alaska-set coming-of-age tale about a 17-year-old girl who enters an age-gap relationship with her middle-aged, married English teacher. In interviews she frames the book as a way to tell truth through difficult, unflinching material, discuss her shift from acting to writing, and outline adaptations and future projects, including a film version and an Apple TV+ series based on her memoir.