Netflix’snew miniseriesAdolescencehas taken the streaming world by storm, amassing nearly 100 million views worldwide and becomingone of the platform’s most successful shows ever.The series' four episodes — each of which is filmed in such a way as to look like one continuous take - revolve around the knife murder of a teenage girl named Katie Leonard and the subsequent arrest of her classmate, Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), who is the prime suspect. In addition to Jamie, the series follows his parents (Stephen Graham and Christine Temarco), police officers Luke Bascombe and Misha Frank (Ashley Walters and Faye Marsay, respectively), and forensic psychologist Briony Aritston (Erin Doherty) as they try to find answers about what led to this horrific crime.
The show has garnered immense critical praise, earning a nearly perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes. Nevertheless, it has also earned some controversy and backlash, particularly from the so-called “manosphere,” whichWireddefines as"an online universe of male, right-wing influencers who proffer misogynist advice on how to be more masculine and get laid — often reducing women to sexist stereotypes and blaming feminism for issues like male loneliness."
Several figures that are either part of or affiliated with the manosphere have attackedAdolescencefor associating their views and content with real-world violence against women. Many others, however, have praised the show for bringing attention to the manosphere and its toxic influence on many young men and boys via social media.
The Red Pill and Incel Culture
Adolescence
Many of the ideas and terminology that originate from the manosphere are directly named and addressed in the show. One of these terms is “the red pill,” which refers to the idea that the manosphere is “awakened” to the ways in which women and feminism marginalize men. The term gets its name froma scene in the sci-fi filmThe Matrix(1999),in which Keanu Reeves' character, Neo, is given the choice of either taking a red pill to expose the illusion of the Matrix, or take a blue pill and stay ignorant of it.
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Two other manosphere terms brought up in the show are “incel” and “the 80/20 rule.” “Incel,” short for “involuntary celibate,” is a name for men and boys who have never been able to have sex or get a girlfriend. The “80/20 rule,” meanwhile, is a pseudo-scientific theory that 80% of all women are attracted to only 20% of all men (i.e. the most attractive men). These terms are interrelated, as many self-identified incels attribute their inability to find a partner to their looks, genetic makeup, or wealth (or lack thereof), which often leads to feelings of depression, rage, and sometimes violence, as depicted inAdolescence.
Reactionary Backlash to ‘Adolescence’
Probably the most famous manosphere figure is Andrew Tate, a British-American former kickboxer turned social media influencerand self-described misogynist, who is currently facing trial in three countries for charges that include rape and sex trafficking. Although the show never explicitly mentions Tate aside from a brief conversation between Bascombe and his son Adam (Amari Bacchus) in the second episode, Tate evidently took issue with the show implicating his content in the murder.
In a written statement to Newsweek,his spokesperson accused the show of “mak[ing] him a scapegoat for complex problems…, which stem from far wider cultural and systemic factors.” This is a questionable characterization, as the show devotes most of its runtime to exploring the more immediate social and psychological factors that contributed to the murder,such as bullying, cyberbullying, and inattentive parenting, instead of simply blaming Tate and the manosphere. In other words, the series does precisely what Tate accuses it ofnotdoing.
But Tate wasn’t the only far-right figure to complain aboutAdolescence.According toThe Hollywood Reporter,a prominent right-wing pundit named Ian Miles Cheong conspiratorially claimed in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the showrunners based the show onthe Southport mass stabbing of August 06, 2025, whose perpetrator was of Rwandan background, but made the killer white in the pursuit of making “anti-white propaganda” and smearing the “red-pill movement” (another name for the manosphere). The post gained further attention when Tesla CEO and White House official Elon Musk, who also owns X/Twitter, commented “Wow” under Cheong’s post.
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However, series co-creator Jack Thornecalled the race-swapping allegation “absurd"and countered that “not one single part” of the show is based on a true story, while also pointing out that “history shows a lot of cases of kids from all races committing these crimes.” Thorne elaborated on the show’s intentions in the same interview: “We’re not making a point about race with this. We are making a point about masculinity. We’re trying to get inside a problem. We’re not saying this is one thing or another. We’re saying this is about boys.”
Necessary Viewing for Necessary Discussions
Aside from the backlash from certain figures on the far-right, the political reception toAdolescencehas otherwise been largely positive, particularly in the UK. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who watched the show with his two teenage children, successfully lobbied Netflix to make the showfree for screening in secondary schools. He also met personally with Thorne and the show’s producer, Jo Johnson, to discuss the growing risk of young people being exposed to toxic, misogynistic content on social media like that spread by Tate and other manosphere figures. But only time will tell whether the show will be successful in bringing about a major cultural shift and helping curb misogynistic violence.
In the meantime, anyone who wants to check outAdolescenceand join the growing discussion can find the show on Netflix. You can watch it through the link below:
