The Netflix drama series Adolescence has become the first programme on a streaming platform to top the weekly audience charts in the UK.

The first and second episodes of the series held the top two spots in the week of its launch, 10-16 March, according to the ratings body Barb.

The initial episode pulled in 6.45 million viewers, while the second recorded 5.9 million viewers, beating the third-placed show, The Apprentice, by about 1.5 million.

Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne’s four-part series, which launched on 13 March, also recorded the biggest audience for any streaming TV show in the UK in a single week.

The show, about the social media-fuelled killing of a female classmate by a 13-year-old boy, has made headlines since its debut. Thorne, its co-creator, has called on the government to ban smartphones for under-16s.

Since the show debuted, the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has said she will scrutinise smartphone bans in schools in England. The education department will monitor a group of schools to understand the effectiveness of the guidance and, for the first time, begin an in-depth analysis of the national behaviour survey in schools to look at the most successful ways of policing bans.

The Labour MP Anneliese Midgley has said the series should be screened in parliament and schools, arguing that it could help to counter misogyny and violence against women and girls.

At prime minister’s questions last week, Keir Starmer said he had been watching the show at home with his 14-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son.

“It’s a very, very good drama,” he said. “This violence carried out by young men influenced by what they see online is a real problem. It’s abhorrent and we have to tackle it.”