Is Netflix's Adolescence crime drama based on a true story? Here's everything we know

A new Netflix drama series revolves around a 13-year-old child who is accused of murdering a classmate, but is it based on a true story?

Adolescence, a new, chilling four-part drama examines a disturbing crime and a horrifying nightmare for parents when Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) is accused of killing his peer, Katie Leonard (Amélie Pease). Adolescence also stars the show’s co-creator Stephen Graham as Jamie's dad.

Each episode delves deeper into the murder case and the events surrounding it, from Jamie’s arrest, the police investigation, the child’s meeting with a court-appointed psychologist, and the aftermath the allegations have on Jamie’s family.

Is Adolescence based on a true story?

The series is not based on a single, real-life murder case, however Graham said it was inspired by the growing rate of knife crime and gender-based crime in the UK.

“There was an incident where a young boy [allegedly] stabbed a girl,” Graham told Netflix’s platform 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?’"

Co-creator Jack Thorne explained how the series serves as an exploration of “male rage”. They also reflected on their identities as men, fathers, partners, 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,” Thorne said.

As a result of working on the show, Graham became aware of the concept of the “manosphere”, a collection of blogs, websites, and online forums promoting masculinity and misogynistic views. Communities within this space includes incels and “manfluencers” who promote these views on their platforms.

“I didn’t know what it was until Jack [Thorne] told me all about it, and I was just blown away,” Graham told Vanity Fair.

Is Adolescence based on a true story?Netflix

Amid concerns around screen time and how this impacts brain development, the manosphere also presents a startling area of concern for parents of boys today.

Viewers have made a link between the teen accused of murder in the show, and the ongoing fears surrounding male rage, misogynistic views on social media, and how they all tie together and influence isolated young male internet users.

Critic Nick Hilton writes in The Independent that the show asks whether the Andrew Tate manosphere drove the 13-year-old at the centre of the story to murder. “Violent misogyny being fomented in Britain’s schools, families blind to their kids’ internet activities, parents handing down destructive traits,” Hilton said. We are all part of the problem that leads to Jamies, and leads to children dead from knife wounds in bleak, empty car parks.”

The Observer’s arts and media correspondent Vanessa Thorpe says she hopes the show leads to, “a wider public acknowledgement that alienated young men are a big problem for us all.”

It is unclear which crime Graham referred to when discussing how Adolescence came to be, however the show’s release comes after the sentencing of Southport killer Axel Rudakubana, who murdered three young girls at a Taylor Swift-inspired dance workshop in 2024.

Brianna Ghey, 16, was murdered in February 2023 by two 15 year olds who lured her to a park and stabbed her repeatedly. The crime was in-part motivated by hostility towards Brianna because she was transgender, the CPS said.

According to figures collected by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 83% of teen homicides in 2023-24 involved a blade.

In January, prime minister Keir Starmer also shared a warning about a new threat in society - “loners, misfits and young men” who are “accessing all manner of material online, sometimes inspired by traditional terrorist groups, but fixated on that extreme violence, seemingly for its own sake.”

While Adolescence is not inspired by one specific crime, it conveys a concerning and startling look at how dangerous alienated young men can become.

You should also read:

• Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson are 'trusted' by shockingly high number of Gen Z men

Sadiq Khan launches anti-misogyny campaign urging men to call out their friends

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