Accused on FOX: Is Accused based on true stories?

If you’ve been loving crime drama Accused on FOX, we definitely can’t blame you! The show is compelling in that it tells a different story in each episode, making you really want to tune in each week. With such interesting plot lines, are any of them based on true stories?

Each episode starts off with a mystery, and we’re watching the whole time trying to put the puzzle pieces together to figure out why the main character of the episode has ended up in the courtroom. Some may have good reasons, while others not so much.

The anthology series’ first season has a total of 15 episodes, with the season finale scheduled for Tuesday, May 9, 2023. And good news! If you want more, then we’re happy to report that the network has already renewed the project for a second season, Variety reports.

Unfortunately, crime is a part of our world and there are some crazy, real-life stories out there. Does the Fox drama draw inspiration from those, or is it all purely fiction? We’ve got the answer for you below!

Is Accused based on true stories?

Accused is not based on any true stories. Many times in the crime genre, production companies adapt real-life events that have happened for film and television. That’s not the case with the anthology series though. All the scenarios have been made up by the writing team.

However, there is one true story that wasn’t created exactly the same in the pilot episode, but it gave creator Howard Gordon the inspiration to start the show. In an interview with Deadline, he shared the story about a Japanese diplomat who was arrested for killing his son because he believed his child would “commit a series of knife attacks.”

This echoes the same storyline of the very first episode, “Scott’s Story,” where Scott Miller was worried his son was going to commit a violent crime after reading about it in his son’s diary. He doesn’t go through with the act, but his son does and it results in a school mass shooting.

Accused airs new episodes Tuesday nights on FOX.