Netflix Viewers Say They ‘Can’t Stop Watching’ This Exceptional British Drama — Eight Years Later, It’s Still Being Called a Masterpiece

Eight years after first arriving on screens, one dark British drama is still inspiring viewers to stay awake until the early hours because they simply cannot stop watching.

The End of the F**ing World* debuted on Channel 4 and Netflix in 2017, but the twisted coming-of-age story continues to attract new fans who describe it as everything from “exceptional” to a “masterpiece.”

Starring Alex Lawther and Jessica Barden, the series begins with an unsettling premise: a teenage boy who believes he may be a psychopath meets a rebellious girl desperate to escape her life.

She thinks they are heading off together in search of her father.

He has a very different reason for going along.

A road trip with a disturbing secret

Lawther plays James, a troubled teenager who is convinced he is a psychopath.

Then he meets Alyssa, played by Barden.

Moody, outspoken and unhappy with her circumstances, Alyssa forms an unlikely connection with James and convinces him to join her on a road trip to find her biological father.

For Alyssa, the journey offers an escape and the possibility of finding something missing from her life.

James initially sees it very differently.

Unknown to Alyssa, he has been contemplating murder and has selected her as his potential first human victim.

That dark setup establishes the unusual tone that made the series stand out from more conventional teenage dramas.

What follows combines bleak comedy, violence, romance and emotional vulnerability as the pair’s relationship develops in ways neither anticipated.

Viewers say they were hooked almost immediately

Years after its original release, audiences discovering the series are still reporting the same reaction: once they start, stopping becomes surprisingly difficult.

“From the first five minutes, I was hooked,” one IMDb reviewer wrote.

Another described being “deeply, truly, moved, entertained, fulfilled,” before praising the work of everyone involved in making the series.

For another viewer, the binge became an unexpectedly late night.

“I simply couldn’t stop watching the episodes and was up until 3 or 4 in the morning,” they admitted.

One fan called the series “exceptional” and described it as simultaneously the “best and the worst thing I’ve ever seen,” explaining that they constantly wanted to see more.

Another praised the show as a “masterpiece,” writing: “Couldn’t stop watching this weird amazing thing.”

Alex Lawther brings James’ unsettling inner world to life

Lawther was already familiar to many viewers before taking on the role of James.

His credits included The Imitation Game as well as the disturbing Black Mirror episode “Shut Up and Dance.”

In The End of the F**ing World*, however, he was given a very different kind of leading role.

James initially presents himself as emotionally detached, and his belief that he may be a psychopath immediately places the audience in uncomfortable territory.

Yet the road trip gradually complicates the character and the audience’s understanding of him.

That tension between James’ disturbing thoughts and the emotional connection developing between the two teenagers becomes central to the series.

Jessica Barden makes Alyssa far more than a rebellious teenager

Opposite Lawther is Jessica Barden as Alyssa.

Barden had previously appeared in Coronation Street and went on to build a varied career with roles in productions including Penny Dreadful, Pieces of Her, You & Me and the 2015 film The Lobster.

Alyssa could easily have been written as little more than the angry teenage counterpart to James’ withdrawn personality.

Instead, her complicated family life and vulnerability give the character considerably more depth.

Her determination to find her real father provides the initial momentum for their journey, but the trip quickly develops into something far more dangerous than she imagined.

The chemistry between Barden and Lawther became one of the defining elements of the show.

Much of the series was filmed around southern England

Although the characters embark on a road trip, much of the production remained relatively close to London.

A significant amount of filming took place around Surrey.

Locations included Woking, Guildford and Camberley’s The Square Shopping Centre, while Longcross Studios was also used during production.

The crew additionally filmed in Bracknell, Berkshire, and traveled to Leysdown-on-Sea on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.

Those locations helped create the series’ distinctive visual world, giving James and Alyssa’s journey an atmosphere that could shift between strangely ordinary and deeply unsettling.

Season two introduced Naomi Ackie as Bonnie

The story later returned for a second season, expanding the consequences of what James and Alyssa had experienced.

One of the most important additions was Naomi Ackie as Bonnie.

Ackie’s performance proved particularly successful.

She won the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for the role, adding another major accolade to a series that had already attracted considerable critical and audience attention.

Her career continued to grow after the show.

Ackie later took on one of her highest-profile roles when she portrayed Whitney Houston in the 2022 biographical film I Wanna Dance with Somebody.

Its unusual tone remains part of the appeal

The End of the F**ing World* is difficult to place neatly into a single genre.

At its center are two teenagers searching for something they cannot find in their ordinary lives.

But surrounding that coming-of-age story are crime, violence, deeply dark humor and increasingly complicated emotional consequences.

That mixture is precisely what appears to keep attracting viewers years later.

The series can be funny and uncomfortable within the same scene, while James and Alyssa continually challenge the assumptions audiences make about them when they are first introduced.

Their journey begins with one teenager unknowingly traveling alongside someone who has considered killing her.

It does not remain that simple for long.

Eight years later, viewers are still discovering it

Streaming has given countless older television series unexpected second lives, and The End of the F**ing World* continues to benefit from viewers finding it long after its original debut.

Its episodes lend themselves particularly well to binge-watching, something reflected in reviews from fans who admit they raced through the story rather than spreading it out.

But the enduring enthusiasm is about more than its pace.

Viewers continue to praise the performances, emotional impact and unusual balance of darkness and humor that made the series distinctive when it first appeared.

Eight years on, a show built around two deeply troubled teenagers and one very strange road trip is still winning over new audiences.

And judging by the people who found themselves watching until 3 or 4 in the morning, starting the first episode may be the easy part.

Turning it off is apparently much harder.

The End of the F**ing World* is available to stream on Netflix.