---
name: "Jack Thorne"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/jack-thorne"
fi1m_id: "jack-thorne"
imdb_id: "nm2113666"
tmdb_id: 207132
wikidata_id: "Q6115483"
roles: ["Writer","Producer"]
born: "6 December 1978"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 18
average_fi1m_score: 74
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 15
updated: "2026-10-07T19:55:59.948342+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Jack Thorne

## Identity

Jack Thorne

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/jack-thorne
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** jack-thorne
- **IMDb ID:** nm2113666
- **TMDB ID:** 207132
- **Wikidata ID:** Q6115483
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Thorne, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6115483, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2113666/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/207132

Writer and producer. Born 6 December 1978 in Bristol, England, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer, Producer
- **Born:** 6 December 1978, Bristol, England, UK
- **Active:** 2004–present
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 18: 2 acting, 15 writing, 1 producing
- **Frequently works with:** [Mark Herbert](https://film.one/person/mark-herbert.md), [Shane Meadows](https://film.one/person/shane-meadows.md), [Stephen Graham](https://film.one/person/stephen-graham.md), [Joe Gilgun](https://film.one/person/joseph-gilgun.md), [Thomas Turgoose](https://film.one/person/thomas-turgoose.md), [Vicky McClure](https://film.one/person/vicky-mcclure.md), [Andrew Shim](https://film.one/person/andrew-shim.md), [Daniel Kaluuya](https://film.one/person/daniel-kaluuya.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 74, as writer, over 15 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 74 (2), 2010s 74 (10), 2020s 76 (6)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 73 to 73 across 11 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 10 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 15, Crime 4, Comedy 3, Action & Adventure 1, Family 1, History 1
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $322m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Thorne, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6115483, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2113666/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/207132

## Coming up

- *The Beatles: Ringo* (2028-04-05), Writer
- *The Beatles: John* (2028-04-05), Writer
- *The Beatles: George* (2028-04-05), Writer
- *The Beatles: Paul* (2028-04-05), Writer
- *Treasure Island* (2028-05-24), Executive Producer

## Streaming the US now

- **Netflix:** [*Adolescence*](https://film.one/tv/adolescence.md) (84), [*Lord of the Flies*](https://film.one/tv/lord-of-the-flies.md) (82), [*Toxic Town*](https://film.one/tv/toxic-town.md) (77), [*The Swimmers*](https://film.one/film/the-swimmers.md) (66)
- **Apple TV:** [*Kiri*](https://film.one/tv/kiri.md) (78), [*National Treasure*](https://film.one/tv/national-treasure-2016.md) (78), [*Shameless*](https://film.one/tv/shameless.md) (75), [*Wonder*](https://film.one/film/wonder.md) (68)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*This Is England '86*](https://film.one/tv/this-is-england-86.md) (80), [*Best Interests*](https://film.one/tv/best-interests.md) (76)
- **Disney+:** [*The Fades*](https://film.one/tv/the-fades.md) (72), [*Skins*](https://film.one/tv/skins.md) (72)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Jack Thorne

> Jack Thorne writes young people whose bravado cannot quite hide how frightened they are. We rate his television highly when he lets them speak for themselves; his weaker passages explain what the actors have already made clear.

In *Skins* (2007), a teenager can sound pleased with themselves and expose their uncertainty in the same sentence. Jack Thorne is one of the writers, alongside Lucy Kirkwood, who give that uncertainty room amid the jokes and provocation. We felt protective of these irritating teenagers because their speech kept giving away their doubt. This is where we trust Thorne most: with people who have not found a convincing way to ask for help.

His early ensemble work also includes *Shameless* (2004), with Paul Abbott and Daniel Brocklehurst among the contributors. There, the strongest exchanges let actors shift between pettiness, evasion and unexpected kindness; the weaker ones keep announcing how outrageous everyone is. The subsequent work takes him from co-writing the *This Is England* miniseries (2010–2015) with Shane Meadows to overseeing the fantasy adaptation *His Dark Materials* (2019–2022) as writer and showrunner. Those changes of scale have not displaced his recurring concern with young people under pressure.

*Adolescence* (2025), written with Stephen Graham, brings that concern into a crime drama about the accusation against a child. Philip Barantini’s direction keeps the distress immediate, giving the performances the force that an account of social pressures alone would lack. We recommend it despite passages where Graham and Thorne explain online misogyny so insistently that the dialogue starts to sound instructional. The script for *Toxic Town* (2025), credited to Thorne and Amy Trigg, has a related weakness: the mothers have lives beyond their campaign, but some of those opposing them are made too obviously objectionable.

*Lord of the Flies* (2026), made with director Marc Munden, gives the actors more room. Shifting between the boys’ perspectives allows different fears to matter, while sparse dialogue lets the cast suggest what the children cannot comfortably say. Their desire to be accepted makes the question of whom they will obey more troubling than the practicalities of survival. Four episodes stretch the material, sometimes holding the tension at much the same level for too long. Start here for Thorne’s sympathy at its most unsettling, allowing for stretches that a tighter adaptation could have lost.

## Biography

Jack Thorne (born 6 December 1978) is a British playwright, screenwriter and producer from Bristol.

He studied politics at Pembroke College, Cambridge, and trained on the Royal Court Theatre's Young Writers' Programme. He is known for the stage play *Harry Potter and the Cursed Child* (2016), screenplays for the films *Wonder* (2017) and the *Enola Holmes* series (2020–2022), and television work including co-writing the *This Is England* mini-series ('86, '88 and '90) with Shane Meadows, and creating or writing *His Dark Materials* (2019–2022), *Toxic Town* (2025), *Adolescence* (2025) and the 2026 television adaptation of *Lord of the Flies*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, deadline.com, rts.org.uk.*

## On Fi1m (18)

### Performed in (2)

- *This Is England '90* (2015), Fi1m 81, as Carrotbum — [page](https://film.one/tv/this-is-england-90.md)
- *This Is England '86* (2010), Fi1m 80, Actor, Writer, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/this-is-england-86.md)

### Wrote (15) — the average rests on these

- *Lord of the Flies* (2026), Fi1m 82, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator, Adaptation — [page](https://film.one/tv/lord-of-the-flies.md)
- *Adolescence* (2025), Fi1m 84, Executive Producer, Writer, Creator — [page](https://film.one/tv/adolescence.md)
- *Toxic Town* (2025), Fi1m 77, Writer, Creator, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/toxic-town.md)
- *Best Interests* (2023), Fi1m 76, Writer, Creator, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/best-interests.md)
- *The Swimmers* (2022), Fi1m 66, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-swimmers.md)
- *The Virtues* (2019), Fi1m 82, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-virtues.md)
- *Kiri* (2018), Fi1m 78, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator — [page](https://film.one/tv/kiri.md)
- *Wonder* (2017), Fi1m 68, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/wonder.md)
- *National Treasure* (2016), Fi1m 78, Executive Producer, Writer, Creator — [page](https://film.one/tv/national-treasure-2016.md)
- *The Last Panthers* (2015), Fi1m 78, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-last-panthers.md)
- *A Long Way Down* (2014), Fi1m 40, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/a-long-way-down.md)
- *The Fades* (2011), Fi1m 72, Writer, Screenplay, Executive Producer, Creator — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-fades.md)
- *This Is England '88* (2011), Fi1m 86, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/this-is-england-88.md)
- *Skins* (2007), Fi1m 72, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/skins.md)
- *Shameless* (2004), Fi1m 75, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/shameless.md)

### Produced (1)

- *Am I Being Unreasonable?* (2022), Fi1m 70, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/am-i-being-unreasonable.md)

## Complete filmography (67)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Treasure Island* (2028), Executive Producer, Screenplay
- *The Beatles: Ringo* (2028), Writer
- *The Beatles: John* (2028), Writer
- *The Beatles: George* (2028), Writer
- *The Beatles: Paul* (2028), Writer
- *Letters to My Younger Future Self* (2026), Actor
- *Enola Holmes 3* (2026), Producer, Writer
- *Falling* (2026), series, Screenplay, Writer, Creator
- *Making of Lord of the Flies* (2026), Thanks
- *Lord of the Flies* (2026), series, Executive Producer, Writer, Adaptation, Creator — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/lord-of-the-flies.md)
- *The Hack* (2025), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator
- *Adolescence* (2025), series, Executive Producer, Writer, Creator — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/adolescence.md)
- *Toxic Town* (2025), series, Executive Producer, Writer, Creator — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/tv/toxic-town.md)
- *JOY* (2024), Writer, Story
- *An Almost Christmas Story* (2024), Story, Screenplay
- *Equal Play* (2024), Executive Producer
- *National Theatre Live: The Motive and the Cue* (2024), Writer
- *Best Interests* (2023), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/best-interests.md)
- *Enola Holmes 2* (2022), Executive Producer, Screenplay, Story
- *Am I Being Unreasonable?* (2022), series, Executive Producer — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/tv/am-i-being-unreasonable.md)
- *The Swimmers* (2022), Writer — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/the-swimmers.md)
- *Then Barbara Met Alan* (2022), Writer, Executive Producer
- *National Theatre Live: After Life* (2021), Writer
- *Help* (2021), Writer, Executive Producer
- *A Christmas Carol* (2020), Writer
- *CripTales* (2020), series, Writer
- *Dirt Music* (2020), Screenplay
- *Enola Holmes* (2020), Screenplay
- *The Secret Garden* (2020), Screenplay
- *The Eddy* (2020), series, Executive Producer, Writer, Story, Creator
- *Radioactive* (2020), Screenplay
- *The Aeronauts* (2019), Story, Screenplay, Executive Producer
- *His Dark Materials* (2019), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator
- *The Accident* (2019), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator
- *The Virtues* (2019), series, Writer — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-virtues.md)
- *Kiri* (2018), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/kiri.md)
- *Wonder* (2017), Screenplay — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/wonder.md)
- *Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams* (2017), series, Writer
- *National Treasure* (2016), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/national-treasure-2016.md)
- *The Last Panthers* (2015), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-last-panthers.md)
- *This Is England '90* (2015), series, as Carrotbum · Writer — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/tv/this-is-england-90.md)
- *War Book* (2015), Writer
- *Don't Take My Baby* (2015), Writer
- *Glue* (2014), series, Writer, Idea, Executive Producer, Creator
- *A Long Way Down* (2014), Screenplay — Fi1m 40, [page](https://film.one/film/a-long-way-down.md)
- *Jonah* (2013), Writer
- *Sinbad* (2012), series, Writer
- *This Is England '88* (2011), series, Writer — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/this-is-england-88.md)
- *The Fades* (2011), series, Writer, Screenplay, Executive Producer, Creator — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-fades.md)
- *The Swarm* (2011), Producer
- *Skins* (2011), series, Writer, Story
- *This Is England '86* (2010), series, Writer, Executive Producer — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/this-is-england-86.md)
- *The Scouting Book for Boys* (2010), Writer
- *Cast Offs* (2009), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Associate Producer, Co-Producer, Creator
- *Skins* (2007), series, Writer — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/skins.md)
- *A Supermarket Love Song* (2006), Screenplay
- *The Mascot* (2005), Screenplay
- *Shameless* (2004), series, Writer — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/tv/shameless.md)
- *Coming Up* (2003), series, Writer
- *Untitled Jack Thorne Spy Thriller*, series, Executive Producer, Writer, Creator
- *Sovereign*, Screenplay
- *Séance on a Wet Afternoon*, Screenplay, Executive Producer
- *Chork*, Writer
- *Stranger Things: The First Shadow*, Story
- *Wavewalker: Breaking Free*, series, Writer
- *The Ocean at the End of the Lane*, Screenplay
- *Jane*, Screenplay

## Gallery

- ![Pictured from Left - Owen Cooper, Stephen Graham, Ashley Walters, Christine Tremarco, Hannah Walters, Jack Thorne, Jo Johnson, Erin Doherty, Mark Herbert (2026)](https://film.one/media/person/22714/gallery-8652eef5af77.jpg) Pictured from Left - Owen Cooper, Stephen Graham, Ashley Walters, Christine Tremarco, Hannah Walters, Jack Thorne, Jo Johnson, Erin Doherty, Mark Herbert (2026) — JaceMerlyn, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/Cast_%26_Crew_of_Adolescence_at_BAFTA_2026.jpg/1280px-Cast_%26_Crew_of_Adolescence_at_BAFTA_2026.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jack Thorne speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con International in San Diego, California.](https://film.one/media/person/22714/gallery-3aff0e8b2464.jpg) Jack Thorne speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con International in San Diego, California. — Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Jack_Thorne_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg/1280px-Jack_Thorne_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jane Tranter, Jack Thorne, Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda and James McAvoy speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "His Dark Ma](https://film.one/media/person/22714/gallery-70cac32bc358.jpg) Jane Tranter, Jack Thorne, Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda and James McAvoy speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "His Dark Ma — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Jane_Tranter%2C_Jack_Thorne%2C_Dafne_Keen%2C_Ruth_Wilson%2C_Lin-Manuel_Miranda_%26_James_McAvoy_%2848383604256%29.jpg/1280px-Jane_Tranter%2C_Jack_Thorne%2C_Dafne_Keen%2C_Ruth_Wilson%2C_Lin-Manuel_Miranda_%26_James_McAvoy_%2848383604256%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jane Tranter, Jack Thorne, Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda and James McAvoy speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "His Dark Ma](https://film.one/media/person/22714/gallery-225c78344f88.jpg) Jane Tranter, Jack Thorne, Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda and James McAvoy speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "His Dark Ma — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Jane_Tranter%2C_Jack_Thorne%2C_Dafne_Keen%2C_Ruth_Wilson%2C_Lin-Manuel_Miranda_%26_James_McAvoy_%2848383612686%29.jpg/1280px-Jane_Tranter%2C_Jack_Thorne%2C_Dafne_Keen%2C_Ruth_Wilson%2C_Lin-Manuel_Miranda_%26_James_McAvoy_%2848383612686%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jack Thorne](https://film.one/media/person/22714/gallery-bff8fab9b625.jpg) Jack Thorne — Image via TMDB
- ![Jane Tranter, Jack Thorne, Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda and James McAvoy speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "His Dark Ma](https://film.one/media/person/22714/gallery-a0181282ee8d.jpg) Jane Tranter, Jack Thorne, Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda and James McAvoy speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "His Dark Ma — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Jane_Tranter%2C_Jack_Thorne%2C_Dafne_Keen%2C_Ruth_Wilson%2C_Lin-Manuel_Miranda_%26_James_McAvoy_%2848383614051%29.jpg/1280px-Jane_Tranter%2C_Jack_Thorne%2C_Dafne_Keen%2C_Ruth_Wilson%2C_Lin-Manuel_Miranda_%26_James_McAvoy_%2848383614051%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jane Tranter, Jack Thorne, Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda and James McAvoy speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "His Dark Ma](https://film.one/media/person/22714/gallery-079a1d58b53e.jpg) Jane Tranter, Jack Thorne, Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda and James McAvoy speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "His Dark Ma — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Jane_Tranter%2C_Jack_Thorne%2C_Dafne_Keen%2C_Ruth_Wilson%2C_Lin-Manuel_Miranda_%26_James_McAvoy_%2848383788402%29.jpg/1280px-Jane_Tranter%2C_Jack_Thorne%2C_Dafne_Keen%2C_Ruth_Wilson%2C_Lin-Manuel_Miranda_%26_James_McAvoy_%2848383788402%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Other awards — 2 won

- Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature 2020: Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (won)
- Tony Award for Best Play 2018: Tony Award for Best Play (won), for *Harry Potter and the Cursed Child*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/jack-thorne