'Adolescence' creator says show is not 'making a point about race' with casting

Jack Thorne, one of the creators and writers of the hit Netflix series “Adolescence,” addressed online criticism about the show’s casting during a March 26 episode of the “News Agents” podcast.

Jack Thorne, one of the creators and writers of the hit Netflix series “Adolescence,” addressed online criticism about the show’s casting during an appearance on the “News Agents” podcast on March 26.

The four-episode series follows a teenage boy who is arrested after he stabs and kills a classmate. Thorne, who co-wrote the script with Stephen Graham, spoke about the casting of Owen Cooper as 13-year-old Jamie Miller, as well as the show’s real-life inspiration.

“They’ve claimed that Stephen and I based it on a story or another story, and so they’re saying that we race-swapped it,” Thorne said. “And nothing’s further from the truth.”

Thorne added that he has worked on telling true stories in his professional career, and he has seen “the harm that can come when you take elements for real life story and you put it on screen, and people aren’t expecting it.”

“There is no part of this that’s based on a true story, not one single part,” Thorne said.