A British mini-series Adolescence was released on Netflix on March 13, 2025. The four-episode series has been making waves not only in the UK but also in India and the United States. In fact, in India, Adolescence has become one of the most-watched series of the week on Netflix. Directed by Philip Barantini and Co-Created by Stephen Graham, Adolescence revolves around a 13-year-old boy who gets arrested in a brutal murder case of another teen named Katie. Adolescence is a psychological thriller that uses real-life references of today like incel, Andrew Tate, and social media. During the investigation, the cop mentions about incel and Andrew Tate's reference. Below is all you need to know about Incel and whether Andrew Tate's reference fit on it-
Is Adolescence a true story?
The answer is yes and no at the same time. While the story around 13-year-old Jamie Miller may be original, the inspiration behind it is based on a true story. The Netflix mini-series Co-creator Stephen Graham has confirmed that he was inspired to make the show after seeing two separate reports of boys stabbing girls to death. BBC quoted Graham saying, "I just thought, what's going on in society where this kind of thing is becoming a regular occurrence?"
"I just couldn't fathom it. So I wanted to really have a look and try and shine a light on this particular thing," added Graham. However, Graham never mentioned which two particular cases.
Andrew Tate's reference in Netflix series Adolescence
The incel community is repeatedly referenced throughout the Netflix series, with many niche manosphere terms used during the show. The main character, Jamie (Owen Cooper), is revealed to have been influenced by the teachings of the manosphere and bullied by other classmates who believe he is an incel. 'Incel' simply means involuntary celibate.”In its most basic form, incel describes someone, usually a male, who is frustrated by their lack of sexual experiences. In the series, Jamie faced cyberbullying by his classmates and even Katie whom he killed. Katie used some emojis to describe Jamie an incel.
Controversial influencer Andrew Tate is great supporter of Manosphere. The manosphere is a collection of websites, blogs, and online forums promoting masculinity. However, the content is often termed misogynistic, and opposition to feminism. While the manosphere used to be limited to dark corners of forum websites like Reddit and 4chan, it has now permeated regular social media, with manosphere commentary present (and popular) on Instagram and TikTok.