Adolescence has been dubbed one of the scariest U.K. television shows of all time. Now that U.S. Netflix subscribers have watched the four-part miniseries, viewers are wondering if Jamie Miller (played by newcomer Owen Cooper) was inspired by a real person. So, is Adolescence based on a true story?
Below, News47.us is breaking down the one-shot series and how writers Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham created the plot. (Warning: spoilers are ahead about Adolescence)
Adolescence follows 13-year-old Jamie’s arrest and how his family’s world is turned upside down in the aftermath. Accused of murdering a classmate named Katie, Jamie faces the consequences of his actions while his parents confront their worst nightmare and as detectives investigate his motive.
Yes, Jamie’s crime is revealed in the first episode when he is interviewed by investigators. Though he insists he hasn’t “done anything wrong” to his father (played by co-creator and writer Stephen), police show them surveillance footage of Jamie stabbing Katie to death. In episode 4, Jamie tells his dad that he’s changing his plea from not guilty to guilty.
Adolescence is not based on a particular real-life crime. Stephen informed Netflix’s Tudum that he was inspired to work on the script when he heard about an incident in the U.K. when a “young boy [allegedly] stabbed a girl.”
“It shocked me,” Stephen elaborated, adding, “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 added that he, Stephen and director Philip Barantini were fascinated by the concept of male rage, and they began “questioning with some intensity” who they were as men. “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,” Jack pointed out.
