Is Accused based on true stories?

Accused on FOX brings a variety of stories about people facing trial for things they may or may not have done. Are the stories based on real life?

When you watch the individual Accused episodes, it can certainly seem like they’re based on real stories. Just look at the first story with a father struggling with what to do when he finds out his son may be planning to shoot up his school. There are multiple school shootings in the United States every single year, so of course, this felt real.

Then there is the case of a man seeking justice for his daughter after she was sexually assaulted and the police did little to help.  There was an episode of three Native Americans facing trial for murder even though they didn’t do it. Just recently, we had an episode of a woman arrested for drug possession and selling even though she was innocent.

These stories sound real. Are they based on real events? Are they like Law & Order where they’re “ripped from the headlines?”

Accused is not based on real stories

The series is not based on real stories from the headlines. However, there is some inspiration taken from real stories, according to Decider.

The very first episode was inspired by a real story of a man doing something to protect the world from his child. A Japanese diplomat was arrested for killing his son. It turns out this man found out his son was planning a series of knife attacks, and he did what he thought was best to save a larger group of people.

During the first episode, we saw a man consider pushing his son off a cliff after realizing he was planning an attack on the school. In the end, he gave his son money to get out of the country, but the son used that money to buy the weapons for the school shooting instead.

While the stories have some basis in truth, the journey and the ending are fictionalized tellings.

Accused airs Tuesdays on FOX.