Is Adolescence based on a true story? All about the real-life knife attacks that inspired Netflix...

The acclaimed series drew inspiration from instances of real violence in the U.K. Is Adolescence based on a true story? All about the reallife knife attacks tha

The acclaimed series drew inspiration from instances of real violence in the U.K.

Is Adolescence based on a true story? All about the real-life knife attacks that inspired Netflix's Emmy-winning series

The acclaimed series drew inspiration from instances of real violence in the U.K.

By Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn is a former editor at **. He left EW in 2023.

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September 18, 2025 10:00 a.m. ET

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Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller and Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller on 'Adolescence'. Credit:

Netflix's breakout series *Adolescence*, co-written by and starring Stephen Graham, barrels into several timely (and uncomfortable) topics, including bullying, misogyny, online radicalization, and "incel" culture.

Created by Graham and Jack Thorne (*His Dark Materials*), the four-part crime drama begins with a 13-year-old boy's arrest for the murder of a female classmate before exploring the rippling impact it has on both his parents and the greater community. Each episode unfolds in a single unbroken take, which further immerses viewers in the story and amps up the tension.

Since its release in March 2025, *Adolescence* has been met with widespread acclaim, winning big at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards. The series took home eight awards, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and acting accolades for Graham, Owen Cooper (the youngest male actor to win an Emmy), and Erin Doherty.

It's queasy, topical stuff, but is *Adolescence *based on a true story? The answer isn't straightforward, so allow ** to explain the limited series' inspirations.**

What is Adolescence about?

Owen Cooper as Jamie and Stephen Graham as Eddie in 'Adolescence'.

Courtesy of Ben Blackall/Netflix

*Adolescence *tells the story of Eddie (Graham)** **and Manda Miller (Christine Tremarco), whose lives are upended when their 13-year-old son Jamie (Cooper) is arrested for the murder of a girl at his school. Throughout a single day, the Millers contend with the detectives and clinical psychologist assigned to the case, all while trying to understand how their son, who they perceived to be well-adjusted, could potentially commit such a violent act.**

Is Adolescence based on a true story?

Mark Stanley as Paulie Hunter, Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller and Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller in 'Adolescence'.

Courtesy of Netflix© 2024

While *Adolescence* isn't based on a single incident, Graham told *Rolling Stone U.K.* that the series was inspired by "a number of incidents where young boys were stabbing and killing young girls."

The rise in attacks with knives or sharp objects has particularly been an issue in the U.K., where the Office for National Statistics (ONS) states that these crimes increased from roughly 27,000 between 2012 and 2013** **to over 50,000 between 2022 and 2023. Data from the Ministry of Justice, meanwhile, shows that 17.3% of these cases involved juveniles between the ages of 10 and 17.

'Adolescence' stars on creating 'dangerous' emotional stakes, telling the suspect's family's story, and more

'Adolescence' ending explained: Unpacking whether Jamie killed Katie (and how the series is a warning to parents)

*Adolescence*'s release came on the heels of the trial of "Southport killer" Axel Rudakubana, who was sentenced in January to a minimum of 52 years for the July 2024 murders of three girls between the ages of 6 and 9. Rudakubana was 17 when he committed the crime. While the show was conceived and written months before that attack, the timing is bound to give it added resonance.

The series' premiere also coincided with recent remarks from U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who in January declared "loners, misfits [and] young men in their bedrooms" who are "accessing all manner of material online" to be as much of a terror threat as political groups like al-Qaeda.

Similarly, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum announced last year that 13% of those being investigated for involvement in U.K. terrorism by the agency are under the age of 18. "That's a threefold increase in the last three years," he said in his speech. "Extreme right wing terrorism in particular skews heavily towards young people, driven by propaganda that shows a canny understanding of online culture."**

"If the law needs to change to recognize this new and dangerous threat, we will change it, and quickly," said Starmer. His comments echo remarks from Yvette Cooper, the U.K. home secretary, who last year spoke about potential efforts to counter those "pushing harmful and hateful beliefs," including what *The* *Guardian* described as "extreme misogyny."

Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller on 'Adolescence'.

Of the attacks, Graham said, "They'd happened up and down the country, and my objective was merely to ask: 'What's going on? Why is this happening? Can we just have a look at it because this kind of thing didn't happen when I was a young lad.'"

Thorne touched on the idea of online radicalization in an interview with *The Independent,* warning viewers not to expect easy answers from the series. "We were trying present a portrait of complexity of this kid that had been made by all sorts of different influences and the thing about incel culture is there's a logic to it."**

Graham added, "It's just being mindful of the fact that not only we parent our children, and not only the school educates our children. But also there's influences that we have no idea of that are having profound effects on our young culture, profound effects, positive and extremely negative. So it's having a look at that and seeing that we're all accountable."**

Why is the series called Adolescence?

Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller in 'Adolescence'.

Courtesy of Netflix© 2024

A truth that Graham, Thorne, and director Philip Barantini really wanted to hammer home was just *how* young some of the attackers are in these cases.

"There were certain incidents that really stuck out where young boys — and they are young boys, they're not men, their brains aren't fully formed yet, hence the title — were killing young girls," Graham told *The Hollywood Reporter*.

When casting the role of 13-year-old Jamie, the creators found it important to find someone who really looked the part. That's how they ended up with Owen Cooper, who was 14 at the time of filming.

"When we got the scripts, it was like, ok, this is about a 13-year-old boy," said Barantini in an interview with *Variety*. "And we were thinking, can we actually cast a lad at that age? Or do we need to look for someone who's 16, 17, 18, but looks really young? But there's something about that sort of adolescent age between 12 and 14, where people's mannerisms change, and people's bodies change, and people's voices change, and all of those things. It was quite apparent that we couldn't go down the road of getting someone older."**

Why is Adolescence filmed in one take?

Ashley Walters as Detective Inspector Bascombe and Faye Marsay as Detective Sergeant Frank in 'Adolescence'.

Courtesy of Netflix© 2024

One-shots are a specialty of Barantini, whose 2021 film *Boiling Point*, also* *starring Graham,* *was filmed in a single take.

"With *Adolescence*, I wanted the audience to go on an immersive journey that unfolds in real time just as it's unfolding for the actors in real time," the director said in a recent interview. "[The single-take] creates a tension and forces a perspective on the audience to where they can't look away, even if they feel anxious or awkward. [The one-shot] doesn't lend itself to all genres, but for this show, we wanted to dip the audience in for an hour, and we pull them out. The next time, it's a few days later or 13 months later, and it's up to the audience to figure things out for themselves."

Graham, speaking with *The Hollywood Reporter,* called it a "marriage" of theater and TV. "Technically, it's a play, and we're playing to the camera."

He continued, "We have to work out how to move around the table and where because it has to be seamless and continuous. It's just such a wonderful process, but it is the most zen as an actor I've ever been. You are in that character from the moment we say 'action' and start until the moment we say 'cut' and finish."**

Who's in the cast of Adolescence?

Christine Tremarco as Manda Miller and Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller in 'Adolescence'.

Courtesy of Netflix© 2024

Graham leads the cast as Eddie Miller, who he described to *Rolling Stone U.K.* as a "hardworking man, the kind of man that I was brought up with, like my uncles and my dad, who used to go to work at, like, six in the morning and not get home till 8 o'clock at night, Monday to Friday."

He's a prolific performer, first making an impression on U.S. audiences in Guy Ritchie's *Snatch* (2000) before appearing in films like *This is England* (2006), *Public Enemies* (2009), and *Rocketman* (2019), as well as the *Pirates of the Caribbean* (2011–2017) and *Venom* franchises (2021–2024). He appeared in two Martin Scorsese films — *Gangs of New York *(2002) and *The Irishman* (2019) — and starred as Al Capone in the Scorsese-produced series *Boardwalk Empire *(2010–2014).

Rounding out the cast are Ashley Walters (*Top Boy, Bulletproof*), Erin Doherty (*The Crown*,* A Thousand Blows*), Faye Marsay (*Game of Thrones, Black Mirror*), and Christine Tremarco (*Wolfe, Clink*). This is the onscreen debut of Owen Cooper, who plays teen Jamie. He'll next appear opposite Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi in Emerald Fennel's upcoming *Wuthering Heights* adaptation.**

Where can I watch Adolescence?

Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller and Erin Doherty as Briony Ariston in 'Adolescence'.

Courtesy of Ben Blackall/Netflix

All four episodes of *Adolescence* are now streaming on Netflix.**

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