Created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, Netflix's latest limited series, Adolescence, is an unflinching look at misogyny-fuelled violence, youth radicalisation, and so-called toxic masculinity. It explores how these cycles persist, how young boys are influenced into misogynistic ideologies, and how girls and women ultimately pay the price. At its core, Adolescence is about male violence and rage, topics that mainstream media often skirts around or waters down. What sets this series apart is that men are leading the conversation. Too often, the responsibility of addressing male violence falls on women, but this is not our burden to carry alone.
The need for stories like Adolescence, which address the attitudes of young men and boys, has never been greater. In 2021, the Ofsted Review of Sexual Abuse in Schools and Colleges revealed that 90% of girls and nearly 50% of boys had experienced sexist name-calling, unwanted sexual comments, or unwanted touching in school settings. Last year, a report found that the majority of UK boys aged 11-14 have been exposed to online content that promotes misogyny and other harmful views. With 69% of boys having encountered posts promoting misogyny, and 70% of teachers saying they had seen a rise in sexist language in the classroom over the last year.
‘Lesser’ acts of sexism and misogyny do not exist in a vacuum. They do not end at name-calling, but can grow and snowball into gendered violence. The most recent Femicide consensus showed nearly one in 10 of all women who died at the hands of men in the UK over the past 15 years were mothers killed by their sons. 2024 statistics from the Office for National Statistics show that the number of girls under 16 murdered with a knife has doubled in just one year, rising from 3 to 7 murders. This marks the highest level in the past decade.
Adolescence has been widely praised for its cinematography, with director Philip Barantini employing his signature one-shot style across all four episodes, making for an immersive, gut-wrenching experience. The series opens with Detective Inspector Luke Bascombe (Ashley Walters) and Detective Sergeant Misha Frank (Faye Marsay) storming into the home of Eddie (Stephen Graham) and Manda (Christine Tremarco), searching for their 13-year-old son, Jamie (Owen Cooper).
After Jamie’s arrest, he is taken to the police station, where the entire first episode unfolds in real-time – from just before 6AM to shortly after 7AM – heightening the tension. Jamie sits in an interview room with Bascombe, Frank, his assigned lawyer Paul Bellow (Mark Stanley), and his father, Eddie, who serves as his appropriate adult.
Details of the case start to emerge. DI Bascombe lays out a series of social media posts Jamie has shared, photos of female models alongside aggressive comments. Then comes the line of questioning: ‘How do you feel about women? Are you attracted to women? Are these the kinds of women you're attracted to?’ Jamie, overwhelmed, simply replies, ‘Yeah.’ Then, DI Frank asks, ‘Do you know a girl called Katie Lennord?’
Katie, it turns out, has been murdered.
As the four-part series unfolds, it examines Jamie’s school life, peeling back the layers of his social circle and exposing the influence of online subcultures – particularly incel forums and male rage rhetoric – on young boys.
Jack Thorne, co-writer of Adolescence, recently told Channel 4 News: ‘What we're looking at really is male rage, how boys grow into toxic presences.’
He continued, ‘What makes this dangerous, all this stuff—the idea of the incel—is that inceldom makes sense to people. And actually, when you look inside it, the reason why you're isolated is because of 'this' is a very, very compelling argument. There are some very dangerous, horrible things being said out there, and unless we start talking about how boys are being logically abused by these influences, we're going to be in trouble.’
Daniel Guinness, Managing Director of Beyond Equality, speaking with Grazia, agrees with Thorne:
‘When boys feel isolated, confused, or let down, they don’t just sit with that frustration, they look for answers. And right now, too many are finding them in the darkest corners of the internet. There, they’re told that the world is against them, that girls are now unfairly advantaged, that they are entitled to more, and that the only way forward is through dominance and control.’
But this path isn’t inevitable. Adolescence shows how seemingly small insecurities are weaponised, turning struggles into resentment, resentment into rage, and rage into radicalisation. The show depicts this transformation with unflinching honesty.
In Adolescence, we see how unprepared schools are to address these issues. Throughout, we see how blindsided Jamie’s parents are. Beyond Equality sees firsthand how eager boys are to discuss topics that are too often ignored: misogyny, consent, and mental health.
‘Consistently, young men tell us that these workshops are the first time they've had the chance to talk about how they're feeling and what they're worried about,’ Guinness says. ‘When given the space to be vulnerable, to explore difficult questions with honesty and support, they don’t retreat into defensiveness. They open up. They reflect. They can challenge harmful ideas and begin to build a healthier understanding of themselves and their relationships.’
The show makes it clear: expecting young people to navigate these issues alone is dangerous. Adults – parents, teachers, policymakers – must intervene.
As Guinness puts it, ‘Boys’ development is shaped by their families, schools, peer groups, and the wider culture around them. If we are serious about preventing radicalisation and violence, we need a holistic approach to education, one that includes specialists, teachers, parents, and the broader community working together.’
Adolescence doesn’t just tell a gripping, devastating story, it serves as a wake-up call. Male rage, youth radicalisation, and misogyny aren’t abstract concepts. They have real-world consequences, and if we don’t address them head-on, we’ll continue to see the tragic cycle repeat.