Adolescence, Netflix’s gripping new drama, has quickly become a must-watch, bringing viewers to the edge of their seats as they ask the same question: is it based on a true story?
The answer isn’t quite straightforward.
The limited, four-part series centres on Jamie, a 13-year-old boy accused of killing his classmate, Katie.
With each episode filmed in one long shot, the drama feels as though it’s playing out in real time with haunting realism and parallels to youth crimes we’re seeing today.
Over the four episodes we see Jamie’s arrest, the police interrogation and subsequent impact on Jamie’s classmates, the 13-year-old’s harrowing meeting with a court-appointed psychologist and the aftermath of the allegations.
So, what, if anything, inspired this instant Netflix hit that’s left such a mark on viewers it’s currently got a 100% rotten tomatoes rating?
Is Adolescence Based On A True Story?
Adolescence isn’t based on one single true crime case, rather several real-life cases and a startling rise in knife crime among teens in the United Kingdom.
Series co-creator, Stephen Graham, revealed an increase in stabbings and knife-based violence he was seeing in the news served as inspiration for the series.
“There was an incident where a young boy [allegedly] stabbed a girl,” Graham tells Tudum. “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?’”
Soon, it became a fascination with unpacking male rage, identity and the relationship between men, fathers, sons and friends.
“That is a journey I’ve never gone on as a writer before, and it scared me and excited me because it felt like we had something to say,” says co-creator, Jack Thorne.
What Is Manosphere?
At the centre of the series are references to the manosphere, specifically that a “call to action” has been made by it. But, what exactly is the manosphere?
If you’re confused, you’re not alone, so too was Graham, telling Vanity Fair: ““I didn’t know what it was until Jack [Thorne] told me all about it, and I was just blown away.”
Essentially, it’s a network of “websites, blogs, and online forums promoting masculinity, misogyny, and opposition to feminism.”
The show also makes reference to problematic figure, Andrew Tate, who is known to promote these similar views.
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