Is Netflix's Adolescence Based On A True Story?

This post contains spoilers for Netflix's "Adolescence."

There's a good reason why Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham's four-part Netflix miniseries, "Adolescence," has been making waves since its weekend debut. For starters, series director Philip Barantini has taken a remarkable one-take approach to every episode, creating an astounding, visually interesting tale that brims with urgency. Moreover, the story in question is a bleak one. Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) is suddenly arrested for murder at the start of the series, accused of brutally stabbing a 13-year-old child left to die in a car park. Jamie, who is also 13 years old, is in his space-themed bedroom when the police burst into his house, armed to the teeth. This jarring premise is heightened by Barantini's one-shot take, which leaves no space for taking a breather. As the accusations pile on, Jamie's stunned father, Eddy (Graham), tries to comfort his frightened kid while the police scan for his prints and interrogate him.

The show's technical brilliance aside, "Adolescence" explores the vignettes of gender-based violence among a younger demographic, bolstered by the rise of misogynistic rhetoric that often dominates social media. Jamie's situation is not just limited to the families affected by the crime, as it affects the community at large, exposing the undercurrents of violence beneath well-adjusted facades. Although Jamie's inherent innocence as a child is on display when he's arrested, the intrigue of the show hinges on whether he is capable of committing such a heinous crime. With time, Jamie reveals his underlying beliefs and his behavior becomes more entitled and aggressive. This paints a picture too severe for his parents, who thought they knew their kid and the kind of person he would grow up to be.

Although "Adolescence" is clearly inspired by real-world crime statistics and the harmful radicalization of children via social media, is it based on a true story? The answer is both yes and no.

Jamie's story is not based on a specific real-life case or person. However, the premise draws heavily from real-world crimes, which Graham talked about in detail in a conversation with TUDUM:

"There was an incident where a young boy [allegedly] stabbed a girl. It shocked me. I was thinking, 'What's going on? What's happening in society where a boy stabs a girl to death? What's the inciting incident here?' And then it happened again, and it happened again, and it happened again. I really just wanted to shine a light on it, and ask, 'Why is this happening today? What's going on? How have we come to this?'"

Barantini (best known for his one-shot "Boiling Point") also echoed this sentiment, citing escalating gender-based knife crimes in the U.K., where the perpetrators are almost always young boys like Jamie who target their female peers out of misogynistic rage. This aspect is explored during Jamie's interrogation, where he blindly regurgitates the problematic worldviews he has gleaned without truly understanding them. A noxious combination of Jamie's ingrained misogyny and tactless immaturity makes these scenes feel heavier, as no one in the room is able to gauge how enraged and violent children like Jamie can be.

Although the showrunners do not blame anyone in particular for Jamie's predicament in "Adolescence," the series raises questions about the alarming prevalence of incel-adjacent talking points on the internet and how easy it is for young boys to be susceptible to them. Should Jamie's parents have been more perceptive about their child, or should the community at large be responsible for casually enforcing patriarchal traditions? While "Adolescence" offers no easy answers, it lingers on these uncomfortable yet necessary questions, being more interested in the psychological ramifications in the aftermath of such a horrific crime.