Netflix’s latest series Adolescence has been criticised for making a 13-year-old white boy the face of knife crime in the UK. Critics have slammed the move, claiming it is the only instance where Netflix will race-swap a Black character for a White actor.
The show centres around a young boy, Jamie Miller (played by Owen Cooper), who is arrested for the murder of a female classmate. The creators have said the show aims to spark conversations in schools and Parliament about issues like social media’s influence on youth and misogynistic behaviours.
Stephen Graham, co-creator of Adolescence and actor in the series, said the inspiration for the show came from real-life events. “There was an incident where a young boy stabbed a girl,” he said.
“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?’”
Adolescence was inspired by the murder of schoolgirl Elianne Andam at the hands of Hassan Sentamu in Croydon, 2023.
— Jonathan Wong (@WGthink) March 19, 2025
They are deceiving you. https://t.co/8DdRgqoD24 pic.twitter.com/sw7PFZIr7b
The series is reportedly inspired by the real-life stabbing of 15-year-old Elianne Andam in September 2023. The attacker, 17-year-old Hassan Sentamu, was sentenced to life in prison for her murder. Sentamu, who had a history of violent behaviour against girls, argued that his autism spectrum disorder caused him to lose control during the incident. Despite this defence, a jury found him guilty of murder.
Knife crime remains a persistent issue in London, which accounted for over a quarter of the UK’s total knife offences in 2023. A 2021 government review revealed that 69% of knife crime offenders in London were from Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds.
DEBATING FICTION in parliament is insane when they should be discussing REALITY
— leilani dowding 🌸🚜 ☮️ (@LeilaniDowding) March 19, 2025
It’s absolutely sickening … “Inspired by the murder” so they created a complete load of fiction. Eliane was an INNOCENT girl killed by a MONSTER with a history of violence who had been caught with… pic.twitter.com/q6IQlUXmmD
