The Crime in 'Adolescence' Might Feel Familiar to True Crime Fans — but Did It Really Happen?

Those who love true crime might believe they’ve heard a dozen stories like the one featured in the Netflix miniseries Adolescence. The four-part fictional series follows a teenage boy who is accused of murder when a girl who is also his classmate is found dead in his neighborhood. But is Adolescence based on a true story or is it a combination of similar crimes and tragedies in real life?

The show takes place in England and opens on a seemingly average neighborhood and one family’s home. It doesn’t take long before the action begins, however, when 13-year-old Jamie is arrested for murder. The kicker? It was all caught on video, and it's unclear what the motivation even was. But is there a real-life Jamie somewhere whose crime inspired the Netflix series? That’s what people want to know.

Before you try to go down an internet rabbit hole about the case behind Adolescence, we can save you the keyboard taps — it is not based on a true story. According to co-creator Stephen Graham, who is also in the series, the story is not based on someone specifically. It is, however, inspired by real events that have happened.

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

The show’s other creator, Jack Thorne, shared with Tudum that in writing Adolescence, he and Stephen had to face the question of who they were as men and fathers, given the graphic nature of the crime depicted in the series from one child against another. He also told the outlet that he felt they had "something to say" in making the fictional show.

Jack appeared on the U.K. morning show This Morning and shared that, for him and Stephen, the story told in Adolescence is over. He did address the unorthodox way the show was set, with each episode being one continuous shot of action with no cuts or edits involved. He revealed that they would "love to explore the one-shot format in another way in other stories."

However, according to Jack, that wouldn't be in another season of Adolescence. In a way, it would make sense for the show to return with a second season that focuses on another kind of crime, or a similarly tragic one. However, as of now, no one attached to Netflix or Adolescence has confirmed Season 2 for the series.

Adolescence is now streaming on Netflix.