The screenwriter behind Netflix’s hit mini-series Adolescence has revealed that problematic figure Andrew Tate helped inspire the creation of the poignant four-part drama.
Adolescence follows a 13-year-old boy named Jamie (Owen Cooper) after he is arrested for the suspected murder of his female classmate. The series has been praised for its portrayal of the growing misogyny and “manosphere” ideology peddled to young boys and men by influencers like Tate.
Director Philip Barantini and series co-creator Stephen Graham have revealed that the series was based on the rise of knife-based violence in the UK. However, screenwriter Jack Thorne explained that incel culture and the messages shared by influencers like Tate had served as a heavy influencing factor on the show.
“As soon as we opened that box, it made sense of everything,” Thorne told The Sydney Morning Herald.
Despite Tate’s strong misogynistic message and incredibly worrying allegations, Thorne says that it’s not a show explicitly slamming Tate. It’s about the wider culture Tate represents and perpetuates.
“The show is not an anti-Andrew Tate thing,” Thorne continued.
“The videos the kids are watching are a lot darker than Andrew Tate, and the people giving out their advice are a lot more dangerous than he is. It’s terrifying.
“I’ve got an eight-year-old kid and it made me want to put him in a box and keep him there for the next 10 years.”
Thorne — a white man — admits he took an honest look inward during the creation of Adolescence, noting that while the series does explore his fears as a father with a son growing up in the age of social media, it also embodies his own rage.
“[Director] Phil, Steve [Graham] and I talked about that a lot, and we have all felt, at different times, challenged by being white men, and being honest about that is at the heart of the show,” he said, per the SMH.
“I remember being that kid who didn’t fit. I’m autistic, and that was the story of my teenage years. I am not saying Jamie is autistic, but I do remember thinking of other people: I see no way of involving myself in your conversation or your life.
“I remember really, really hating myself, and I think those aspects are in Jamie. A real, profound self-hatred.”
In Adolescence, Thorne highlights just how easy it is for vulnerable, impressional boys and men to fall into the damaging rhetoric of toxic masculinity.
Ultimately, it’s important to recognise that Tate and his harmful gendered messaging does not exist in a vacuum. Instead, it’s amplified by a patriarchal system which not only continues to harm women, but men too. After all, so many boys and men falling into a red pill rhetoric do so after being rejected by traditional notions of masculinity. Or, they head to internet echo chambers as a place of solace after feeling terrified that if they do the wrong thing they’ll be called out or cancelled.
Adolescence speaks to this, exposing just how insidious these communities can be and the devastating effects they can have on individuals and society.
You can watch season one of Adolescence on Netflix.
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