Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham‘s Adolescence continues to dominate Netflix charts. The technical prowess and the acting performances layered within some brewing-hot drama have made the Netflix miniseries one of the most critically acclaimed and popular series of 2025. Exploring varied themes with great social relevance, Adolescence has not only presented the audience with a refreshing take on the crime drama genre but has also incited much-needed conversations. The premise of an underage culprit behind a gruesome murder and the varying perspectives on the incident form the crux of Adolescence. If you liked (or loved) the latest Netflix series, Chris Evans‘ murder-mystery legal drama – Defending Jacob – on Apple TV+ may just be the perfect binge-watch.

Both ‘Adolescence’ and ‘Defending Jacob’ Focus on Crimes Involving Minors

Early into Episode 1 of Adolescence, the Netflix series drops its biggest hook for the audience by depicting the arrest of a scared 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), who’s being taken into custody for the murder of a classmate, Katie Leonard (Emilia Holliday). The seemingly innocent demeanor of Jamie manages to arrest the attention of the viewers quite quickly, even though Adolescence does not make the audience spend a lot of time thinking too hard about Jamie’s culpability. Along similar lines, Defending Jacob takes off by putting Chris Evans’ Assistant District Attorney, Andy Barber, in the most inconvenient position possible. In the court of law, Andy (Chris Evans) is being questioned about his son Jacob Barber’s (Jaeden Martell) hand in the murder of Jacob’s classmate, Ben Rifkin. Both shows choose to introduce the inciting incident quite early in their runtime, and the premise of potential child murderers only adds to the fascination and novelty of these series.

‘Adolescence’ and ‘Defending Jacob’ Closely Follow the Journey of the Parents

Image via Apple TV+

Based on the 2012 novel of the same name by William Landay, Defending Jacob follows different beats when compared to Adolescence, although both delve deeply into the implications when a child is held guilty of a heinous crime. While Adolescence chooses to explore the social and psychological impact of such an event on everybody involved, Defending Jacob dwells heavily on the mystery around Jacob’s true role in the death of Ben Rifkin and the legal procedure that follows. Adolescence dissects the various perspectives of the parties involved, including that of Ashley Walters’ DI Luke Bascombe, the lead investigator of the murder; Erin Doherty‘s Briony Ariston, the psychologist who interviews Jamie; and Eddie Miller (Stephen Graham) and Manda Miller (Christine Tremarco), Jamie’s distraught parents.

On the other hand, Defending Jacob occupies itself mainly with Jamie’s father, Andy, and mother, Laurie’s (Michelle Dockery) approach to investigating their own truth. On one hand, Andy tries to investigate the murder of Ben in the interest of his son, often choosing to hide facts and potential evidence. Laurie just wants to know whether her son could be the killer everyone thinks he is. In this aspect, Adolescence and Defending Jacob put forth the varying perspectives on how parents tend to react upon discovering that their child is capable of killing a person. In Adolescence, the child’s parents become passive actors to everything unfolding around them; in Defending Jacob, the parents play an active role in helping the audience discover the truth – which is only revealed in bits and parts. Regardless, both television series focus deeply on the parents and the impact upon them on all fronts. Just like Adolescence tries to explore the theme of the complicity of parents in their child’s crime, Defending Jacob goes an extra measure by showing how parents sometimes enable such behavior, as Andy is seen disposing of a knife that Jacob could have used for the murder.

Both Crime Dramas Focus on the Influences on Children

Image via Apple TV+

A few episodes in, Defending Jacob reveals that Jacob was influenced by a few factors in what could be the character’s potential motive if, indeed, the character killed his classmate. Jacob’s friend, Derek (Ben Taylor), reveals to Andy that Jacob consumed extreme pornographic material, hinting at Jacob’s violent tendencies. It is also established that Ben possibly bullied Jacob in school. On a similar note, in Adolescence, Katie used to bully Jamie after he asked Katie out. Also, Adolescence discusses the impact of incel culture being propagated in sensitive environments such as schools. Both Jamie and Jacob tend to show, at various moments throughout the episodes, extremely manipulative behavior, which is likely a function of their surroundings.

While handling the inherently disturbing thought of children turning into cold-blooded murderers, both Adolescence and Defending Jacob also try to develop a case study on how external influences shape decisions early in one’s life. The Apple TV+ series takes a step further by introducing Jacob’s estranged grandfather, William “Bloody Billy” Barber (J.K. Simmons), into the equation. Billy is in prison for cold-blooded murder. While Andy approaches Billy to get his hands on his father’s DNA and use it to build a case for his son’s reduced sentence, if he is found guilty, Defending Jacob does shed some light on the thread of crime running in the family, although Billy was not actively involved with Jacob.

Even though Andy’s strained relationship with his father contrasts with the loving bond between Andy and Jacob, Defending Jacob dives into how familial ties may even unconsciously lead to a streak of violence. In the finale of Adolescence, even Stephen Graham’s Eddie Miller questions himself that if he’s the product of the upbringing of his father, then how could Jamie be the product of his upbringing, which is largely devoid of fault lines (despite the minor anger issues Eddie is seen showing in the finale).

Much like Adolescence, the Apple TV+ Chris Evans miniseries captures the public trial, the scrutiny by the media, and the impact it has on an otherwise well-functioning family. While the show retains its shock value by taking an underage suspect to court and exposing him to the judicial system, it also delves deeper into themes of privacy, privilege, and predatory behavior toward children — which all form the core of Defending Jacob‘s story. With the Barber family in Defending Jacob being alienated within their own town (in Adolescence, the Millers are seen being harassed by the local kids — something that resonates with Jamie’s sister Lisa, who also faces the same), the Apple TV+ show follows the deep trail that a crime leaves.

Both shows not only cover the impact of a crime committed by someone who at first glance seems incapable of it, but also raise important questions on changing notions of upbringing, parenting, the influence of media on young minds, and social attitudes toward crime involving children. While Adolescence does it with a lot of deep-rooted drama, Defending Jacob tries to achieve it by being a legal procedural that works better as a crime drama with a bothersome mystery at the center of it.

All episodes of Defending Jacob are available to stream on Apple TV+.