Is Netflix's Adolescence a true story? Tragic real life inspiration revealed

14 March 2025, 22:47

The real life inspiration behind Netflix's Adolescence. Picture: Netflix

By Katie Louise Smith

Adolescence is not based on a real story but there's several real life events that have inspired the tragic situation that unfolds in the show.

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Netflix's Adolescence has taken the streaming platform by storm, and if the harrowing tragic storyline feels all too familiar to you, that's because it probably is. You've likely seen the countless news reports that it's inspired by...

The limited series, starring Stephen Graham who is also the co-creator, follows the story of 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) who is arrested for the murder of a teenage girl Katie who goes to his school.

Adolescence explores several different aspects of the crime including his family's reaction and the police investigation. The series also acts as a terrifying warning about the dangers of toxic masculinity.

Stephen Graham has now explained the real life events that prompted the team to explore and question the underlying concerns regarding young men in today's society.

Read more: Who is the killer in Netflix's Adolescence? Ending explained by co-creators

CONTENT WARNING: This article contains mentions of violence and knife crime that some may find distressing.

Adolescence co-creator Stephen Graham explains the real life inspiration behind the show. Picture: Netflix

Is Adolescence based on a true story? Is Jamie Miller a real person?

No, Adolescence is not based on one specific true story. It's inspired by real life events in the UK surrounding the rise of knife crime and the growing pressures that face young boys are facing due to toxic male culture.

Speaking to Tudum, Stephen Graham explained: "One of our aims was to ask, 'What is happening to our young men these days, and what are the pressures they face from their peers, from the internet, and from social media?'"

"And the pressures that come from all of those things are as difficult for kids here as they are the world over."

He continued: "We could have made a drama about gangs and knife crime, or about a kid whose mother is an alcoholic or whose father is a violent abuser. Instead, we wanted you to look at this family and think, 'My God. This could be happening to us!' And what’s happening here is an ordinary family’s worst nightmare."

Watch Netflix's Adolescence trailer

Again, the story of Jamie Miller and the crime he is accused of is not based on one specific incident, nor is he based on any specific person. Instead, it's all inspired by several devastating news reports that have emerged in recent years.

"There was an incident where a young boy [allegedly] stabbed a girl,” Stephen told 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?'"

The series is also driven by questions about "male rage", "misogynistic tendencies" and the alarming toxic rhetoric growing rapidly online that is being consumed by impressionable young men.

Speaking to Sky News, Stephen added: "You look at it and you see that we're kind of all accountable to an extent. There's failings within the school system, there's situations where the education system can look at this, look at what's happened with that kind of rise in these misogynistic tendencies."