One of the biggest television shows of the year was Adolescence, which starred Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper. Stephen has since revealed that he is working on a book inspired by the series, Letters to Our Sons, which will be made up of letters from fathers from all walks of life. The actor revealed that he hoped the book, which will be published by Bloomsbury in October 2026, would provide the "opportunity for fathers to reach out to their sons" following the issues raised in the series.
In a statement, Stephen said: "After the huge impact of Adolescence, I realised there was a greater need for communication between fathers and sons. There is arguably an even bigger disconnect than ever before, and I would love to help create more opportunity for fathers to reach out to their sons and carry on the conversation.
"We want to hear from men of all ages, first-time fathers, absent fathers, fathers who've been there but never truly been there, fathers who've lost and fathers who just want to find a way to say I love you, to tell their sons what they mean to them and to talk openly about what it means to be a man."
During an appearance on The One Show alongside Hollywood star Ethan Hawke, Stephen spoke about the book. When asked about the book, he said: "I thought it was just a wonderful opportunity to reach out to people, to create that opportunity for them to write a letter. For some fathers and sons it's very difficult. I'm very blessed, I have a wonderful relationship with my dad, I have a wonderful relationship with my son, but I know some people don't have that, and sometimes putting pen to paper or writing something on a keyboard can create that beginning of a relationship.
"And for fathers that are estranged from their sons, it might be a nice text to have, but it's only through people actually sending their letters in that might be a wonderful opportunity. Writing a letter to your son is special, that creative element."
Ethan, who has starred in Boyhood and Training Day, said the current climate was "scary", especially with the "father's desire to be the perfect, idealised version of a father". The 54-year-old, who is a father to four children, also expressed his desire to submit a letter after host Alex Jones spoke about the details. "I'm going to submit," the actor said. "I'm going to work on that tonight, that's a really good idea."
Success of Adolescence
The series, which was released back in March, focused on the arrest of 13-year-old Jamie Miller for the murder of his classmate, Katie Leonard. The show brought up issues around toxic masculinity and incel culture and created shockwaves around the country, with the drama brought up in the House of Commons and schools pledging to show the drama to bring attention to the issues.
Speaking at the BAFTAs, Stephen said of the show's inspiration: "I read an article in the paper about a young boy stabbing a young girl, and it just made me feel a bit cold. And then about three or four months later, there was a piece on the news, and it was a young boy, again, who stabbed a young girl. And they are young boys. They're not men."
The father-of-two continued: "It really hurt my heart for many different reasons, but predominantly as a father, but also like, where are we in society for this to happen? Today we don't know what our children could do in their bedrooms, the possibility of the internet."
Will there be a second series?
During an appearance on This Morning, the show's screenwriter Jack Thorne ruled out any chance of Jamie returning for a second season and said that the show likely wouldn't be returning as a result. He explained: "In terms of the second series, I think Jamie’s story is finished. I don't think there's anywhere more we can take Jamie, so I don't think there is a series two. We'd love to explore the one-shot format in another way. We'd love to tell other stories with it, but I don't think series two of Adolescence is quite right for us."