Did Netflix’s 'Adolescence' Race-Swap Series' Murder Suspect?

"Adolescence" is the number 1 streaming show on Netflix this week, a four-part British crime drama about a 13-year-old boy arrested for murdering a classmate.

Co-creator Stephen Graham says the series is based on a growing number of news stories in which young boys are involved in knife crimes, albeit not one specific case.

Still, viewers have noted eerie similarities between the show's plot and a real-life murder case in Southport, where a teen was recently jailed for the murder of three young girls.

However, the teen arrested in Southport was black. The character in the series is white. And the noted difference in race has prompted accusations of "race-swapping," referring to when a show depicts a character as a different color than the person on whom they are based.

Notably, Elon Musk amplified the following X post from commentator Ian Miles Cheong about the show:

"So guess what. They race swapped the actual killer from a Black man/migrant to a White boy and the story has it so he was radicalized online by the red pill movement. Just the absolute state of anti-White propaganda," Cheong posted on X earlier this month.

Jack Thorne, the other co-creator of "Adolescence," denied those claims in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter this week, claiming the show is not about race but how "masculine" content online can radicalize young boys.

"We're not making a point about race with this. We're making a point about masculinity. We're trying to get inside a problem… this is about boys," Thorne said. "It is absurd to say that knife crime is only committed by black boys… It’s not true."

Well, no one said that only black boys commit knife crimes. The point is the similarities between the Southport murder and the show told in the series. 

The truth is, whether the show engaged in race-swapping or not, the casting of a young white boy accused of murder is painfully predictable. In nearly every new show, a white male is the perpetrator of violence, a black character is a victim of discrimination, and a female now saves the day.

Riveting.

(Photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)

Nonetheless, the UK is so proud of the show that it plans to show it to high schools across the country due to a new initiative backed by the far-left UK government.

Parents and teachers will also be given guides to help them navigate conversations raised about the show's themes of "knife crime, toxic masculinity and the danger of online content on children," Variety reported Monday.

The message: masculinity is bad and leads to young boys engaging in knife violence.

But if you are one of our British readers, we encourage you not to speak out against the decision to stream the series in schools near you. See, in the UK, they will literally arrest you for posting the wrong opinion on social media. 

The UK is a shell of its former self and weak leaders like Prime Minister Keir Starmer are too spineless to lead a rebound. Same with Germany and Ireland.

Anyway, if you don't live in Britain or one of the other censorship-heavy countries in the West, let us know your thoughts about "Adolescence" on X, @burackbobby_.