Absolute Beginners (TV series)

Absolute Beginners (Polish: Absolutni debiutanci) is a Polish teen drama television series starring Martyna Byczkowska and Bartłomiej Deklewa. It was released on Netflix on 25 October 2023.

Absolute Beginners
Netflix poster
Polish	Absolutni debiutanci
Genre	Teen drama Romantic drama
Created by	Nina Lewandowska Kamila Tarabura
Written by	Nina Lewandowska Kamila Tarabura Jędrzej Napiecek
Directed by	Kamila Tarabura Katarzyna Warzecha
Starring	Martyna Byczkowska Bartłomiej Deklewa Jan Sałasiński Paulina Krzyżańska Katarzyna Warnke Piotr Witkowski Anna Krotoska Andrzej Konopka Julian Świeżewski
Country of origin	Poland
Original language	Polish
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Producer	Magdalena Zielska
Running time	43–54 minutes
Production company	ATM Grupa
Original release
Network	Netflix
Release	25 October 2023 (2023-10-25) – present

Premise

Lena and Niko travel to the Polish seaside to make an admissions film for their dream film school. There, they meet a boy who will put their friendship to the test.^[1][2]

Cast

Main

• Martyna Byczkowska as Lena Głowacka, an autistic^[3] teenager, Niko's best friend
• Bartłomiej Deklewa as Niko, Lena's best friend
• Jan Sałasiński as Igor Tymczenko, a promising young basketball player from Silesia who is attending a basketball camp on the coast
• Paulina Krzyżańska as Malwina, Igor's summer fling and Niko's friend
• Katarzyna Warnke [pl] as Tamara, Lena's mother
• Piotr Witkowski as Dawid, Lena's stepfather
• Anna Krotoska as Bogusia, Niko's mother
• Andrzej Konopka [pl] as Paweł, Niko's father
• Julian Świeżewski [pl] as Marcin, Igor's coach

Recurring

• Maciej Kosiacki as Jacek
• Jakub Wieczorek [pl] as "Ryba", Malwina's father
• Ewa Ekwa as Wika
• Maciej Maleńczuk as the campsite owner
• Mariusz Bonaszewski [pl] as the club president

Guest

• Agnieszka Holland as the chairwoman of the examination committee
• Agnieszka Smoczyńska as a member of the examination committee
• Xawery Żuławski as a member of the examination committee
• Natalia Fiedorczuk [pl] as a member of the examination committee
• Łukasz Maciejewski [pl] as a member of the examination committee
• Jerzy Matula [pl] as a member of the examination committee

Episodes

No.	Title	Duration	Original release date
1	"Episode 1"	46 min	25 October 2023 (2023-10-25)
2	"Episode 2"	46 min	25 October 2023 (2023-10-25)
3	"Episode 3"	48 min	25 October 2023 (2023-10-25)
4	"Episode 4"	43 min	25 October 2023 (2023-10-25)
5	"Episode 5"	45 min	25 October 2023 (2023-10-25)
6	"Episode 6"	54 min	25 October 2023 (2023-10-25)

Production

The series was filmed in Ustka, a spa town on the Slovincian Coast.^[4][5]

Reception

Reviewing the pilot episode, Joel Keller of Decider wrote, "With some interesting lead performances, and a plot that goes beyond the standard teen coming-of-age stuff, Absolute Beginners sets up an intriguing story about teens who either aren't sure about what they want or are sure but have trouble expressing it."^[6]