"Adolescence" is a British psychological crime drama series created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, and directed by Philip Barantini. The story follows Jamie Miller, a 13-year-old boy (played by Owen Cooper), who is arrested for murdering a girl at his school. Each of the four episodes was filmed in one continuous take.
Stephen Graham came up with the idea for the series after hearing about cases of knife crime involving teenagers in the UK, such as the deaths of Ava White, Elianne Andam, and Brianna Ghey. He wanted to explore why young boys commit violence against girls and worked with writer Jack Thorne to develop the show. However, Thorne has said the story is not based on any real-life case.
In an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row, Thorne said the creators wanted to look at "modern male anger" and understand how public figures like Andrew Tate affect boys today.