Tragic real-life murder cases that inspired Netflix’s new 'disturbing' crime drama

Among the plethora of unnerving questions that Netflix's new British crime series Adolescence has raised since landing on the streaming service last week, people have been wondering whether or not it's based on a true story.

For those who haven't yet binge-watched the gut-wrenching four-parter, it follows the story of a devoted father whose life is turned upside-down when his 13-year-old son is arrested for the violent murder of one of his classmates.

Critically-acclaimed Liverpool-born actor Stephen Graham plays Eddie Miller, and television newbie Owen Cooper plays his teen son, Jamie.

Top Boy star Ashley Walters also joins the huge-name cast as the investigation's lead detective, while The Crown's Erin Doherty plays Jamie's psychologist.

Since dropping last Wednesday (12 Mar), mass praise has already been heaped onto both cast and crew, with specific kudos going onto the fact that each of the hour-long episodes is filmed in one shot.

Another aspect of the production that has seemingly hit home with millions of viewers is how prevalent the theme of knife crime feels for many UK parents.

"Just watched #Adolescence—a disturbing look at how social media influences can shape young teens. The fact that every episode was shot in one take, with no cuts or pauses, is seriously impressive," one fan gushed.

Another wrote on X: "Just watched the new Netflix series #Adolescence. Acting masterclass, something never seen before, filmed in one take. Powerful, meaningful and shows you just how much damage is caused to families around knife crime. This needs pushing into schools."

Naturally, the themes of the production left thousands of others wondering whether Adolescence is based on a true story.

The story is based off an amalgamation of several different knife crime cases (Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

And though it is not, lead actor Graham - who also co-wrote the show - explained that it's an amalgamation of the 262 people who were stabbed to death in England and Wales between 2023-2024, and what their families endured.

Unlike many similar crime-dramas, the show doesn't pose a 'whodunnit' question, however, revealing in the very first episode that Jamie stabbed his victim after she cyber-bullied him, but begs the question, 'Why?'.

Despite admitting it is based on real life, 51-year-old Graham opted not to give any specific names.

"There was an incident where a young boy [allegedly] stabbed a girl," he 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?'. 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?'."

Graham discussed the message that the show was trying to convey (Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

The actor - who himself is a father-of-two - went on to explain: "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."

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