Netflix’s “Adolescence” wins Golden Rose and tops 2025 Rose d’Or Awards

Netflix’s “Adolescence” dominated the 64th Rose d’Or Awards, earning three of the most prestigious honors at the international ceremony held on December 1 at Kings Place in London. The British series won the Drama category, the Emerging Talent award for Owen Cooper, and the coveted Golden Rose—marking it as one of the year’s standout global television successes.

The Rose d’Or jury praised “Adolescence” as “an extraordinary, sector-changing achievement – a set of outstanding production techniques used to rewire storytelling for a vital collective issue of our time,” and called it “simply the show of the year.” Jack Thorne, co-creator of the series, accepted the Golden Rose and commented: “This is a show that attempted to look at something quite complicated… There are those who believe that the kids are fine, that we need to leave them to their freedom… But we are conducting a giant science experiment with immature brains, and some teenagers will be profoundly affected by the loneliness and toxicity of the online space. If you have any sort of power… please check that the teenagers you’re responsible for are OK. The idea that we provoked a bit of talk on people’s sofas with ‘Adolescence’ means the world.”

Hosted by comedian Dara Ó Briain, the 2025 Rose d’Or Awards brought together hundreds of executives, commissioners, and creatives to recognize outstanding programming across 13 television categories and four special awards, selected from more than 600 entries submitted from 30 countries.

The Performance of the Year award was presented to the ensemble cast of HBO Spain’s “Furia (Rage).” Accepting the award, actress Carmen Machi said, “There is nothing more rewarding than receiving an award together with all your castmates, because teamwork is what makes it work.” Creator Félix Sabroso added, “This generous and brilliant cast is a gift, portraying five women who represent different cracks in the system, pushed to their limits to create a satirical portrait of the current moment.”

Veteran UK actress Anne Reid was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing a career that spans more than six decades across landmark titles such as “Coronation Street,” “Dinnerladies,” “Last Tango in Halifax,” and the recent “Riot Women.” Writer Sally Wainwright praised Reid, stating: “Annie has that extraordinary quality of realness that so few actors have… You can’t see her acting – she just is. The nuance and the subtlety does take your breath away… I can’t imagine anyone who deserves this award more.”

Among other category winners, the United States claimed victory in Comedy Drama or Sitcom with Apple TV’s “The Studio,” which judges described as “a brilliant contemporary satire of art versus business versus ambition versus humanity turned up to 11 – so accurate and hilarious you can only watch through your fingers.” Japan’s “Ants,” produced by Nippon TV and Fremantle, won in Comedy Entertainment for its “original idea with broad family appeal – and very funny!”

Norway’s “The Box” took home the award for Competition Reality, labeled “brilliantly unique, high-octane and entertaining” by judges. In the Arts category, Belgium’s “Soundtrack to a Coup d’État” was commended as “a tour de force of rhythm.”

In the Children & Youth category, the BBC’s animated film “Tiddler” from Magic Light Pictures was honored. Channel 4’s “The Jury: Murder Trial” won in Factual Entertainment & Reality, and Sky’s “A League of Their Own” claimed the award for Studio Entertainment.

The audio category was awarded to “The Ballad of Scout and the Alcohol Tag,” produced by the Prison Radio Association for the BBC, which the jury described as “full of character and empathetic storytelling.”

Jean Philip De Tender, director of media and deputy director general at the European Broadcasting Union, presented the Golden Rose, stating: “This year’s submissions highlight the power of our industry to reflect the lives of diverse communities and offer audiences stories they can trust. Whether delivered through digital innovation or emerging formats, the work honoured tonight shows a shared commitment to storytelling with genuine purpose.”

Rose d’Or Chair Mark Rowland concluded: “Congratulations to the winners and to everyone from a remarkable field of more than 600 entries from 30 countries. Each year the bar rises again. The ambition, craft and imagination on display across these categories is extraordinary, and our judges had an exceptionally tough job choosing between so many outstanding programmes.”