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Half Man
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Half Man
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Summary
Drama exploring brotherhood, violence and the intense fragility of male relationships. Wriiten by and starring Richard Gadd, with Jamie Bell
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Review
Gareth McLean
How do you follow a discomfiting drama like Baby Reindeer? If you’re Richard Gadd, you create an even more dysfunctional relationship than stalker-victim and chart its damaged anatomy with a pathologist’s diligence. And so Half Man focuses on the toxic codependency between de facto stepbrothers Ruben (Gadd) and Niall (Jamie Bell). There will be blood.
Can a drama be unmissable and unwatchable? Half Man is certainly unmissable. Richard Gadd’s follow-up to Baby Reindeer, in which he explored his experiences of being stalked and sexually assaulted, shares a conceit with its predecessor – what happens when someone, an apparently unstoppable force, suddenly decides to hijack your life?
It tackles similar themes, too – that of co- dependency, of shame and denial, of complicity in one’s own abuse. But Half Man, charting the toxic relationship between mild-mannered Niall (Jamie Bell and Mitchell Robertson as young Niall) and violent Ruben (Gadd and Stuart Campbell as young Ruben) over 25 years, is a bigger, more ambitious, darker drama.
And this is where it starts to get unwatchable. Because the show isn’t just dark, it’s bleak. With its focus on male sexual repression, the corrosive consequences of sexual abuse, and self-loathing so suffocating that just observing it feels like drowning, it’s also revoltingly violent. All of which makes it rather traumatic instead of enjoyable.
Undoubtedly very good, the drama also showcases Gadd’s unflinching eye and steely nerve as a writer. For viewers in possession of the same – and the rest of us girding our loins – this show will be among this year’s most captivating viewing experiences.
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8.0/10
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Cast
rolenameNiallJamie BellRubenRichard GaddLoriNeve McIntoshAlbyCharlie de MeloAvaAnjli MohindraButchTom AndrewsMauraMarianne McIvorDanielTim DownieYoung NiallMitchell RobertsonJoannaKate Robson-Stuart
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Seasons
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Season 1
Special episodes
News & features about Half Man
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Where was Half Man filmed?
Richard Gadd's new show has taken him back to Scotland.
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Half Man release date: When is it on?
Confirmed release date and everything you need to know.
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Best LGBTQ+ shows of 2026 so far – from Tip Toe to Half Man
Halfway through the year, we're already spoiled for choice.
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Half Man cast: Richard Gadd and Jamie Bell star in BBC drama
Gadd and Bell's characters are played in their younger years by Stuart Campbell and Mitchell Robertson.
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Will Half Man return for season 2? Richard Gadd confirms series future
"I think the best way of telling this story was the way that it ended, in the way that it does end in Half Man"
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Half Man review: After Baby Reindeer, Richard Gadd faces a difficult second album ★★★☆☆
Stomach-churning, unrelenting, violent... the writer and actor behind one of Netflix's biggest shows returns with a BBC drama that has a lot to admire, but not a lot to love.
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Half Man’s Richard Gadd reveals why Baby Reindeer’s success was an "innately destabilising experience"
"I just suddenly felt like one day people weren't paying attention to me, and the next day they were."
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Half Man ending explained: Richard Gadd reveals meaning behind dramatic ending for Ruben and Niall
There were some big reveals as the series came to an end.
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Half Man release schedule: When is episode 6 out on BBC iPlayer and BBC One?
The drama is also being released on HBO in the US.
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Richard Gadd argues pivotal scene of new series Half Man is the best thing he's ever written
The Baby Reindeer star has teased big things for his new BBC drama...
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Richard Gadd’s Half Man pushes the BBC to its violence limits but will it ever match HBO’s extremes?
Half Man is a co-production that straddles the line between the BBC and HBO's attitude towards on screen violence. But will the public broadcaster ever fully embrace graphic content on the level of Game of Thrones and The Boys?
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Half Man stars unpack pivotal episode 3 scene, with "subtle" key to understanding Ruben's violence
Mitchell Robertson and Stuart Campbell spoke with Radio Times exclusively about their favourite scene from the BBC/HBO series.
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Half Man’s Richard Gadd explains how that shocking Ruben reveal was hinted at across the whole show
"I definitely tried to sew it and hint at it."
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Richard Gadd explains how much new show Half Man is influenced by toxic masculinity and the manosphere
Gadd's new drama deals with themes of brotherhood, violence and "the intense fragility of male relationships".
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Richard Gadd explains why Half Man doesn't "pull punches" and why its most violent scenes are essential
Gadd, best-known for his Netflix mega-hit Baby Reindeer, is the latest guest on our interview series looking at the art of screenwriting.
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Richard Gadd reveals new show Half Man pre-dates Baby Reindeer – and why it had to be on the BBC
Half Man, which stars Gadd alongside Jamie Bell, will be released later this month.
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Half Man exec teases twists and turns in Richard Gadd’s "surprising" Baby Reindeer follow-up
Gadd has both created and stars in the BBC drama, which also stars Jamie Bell.
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Is TV's tackling of toxic masculinity only further alienating our young men?
The crisis in masculinity makes compelling TV, but it's good to be reminded that not all young men are behaving badly.
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Baby Reindeer star's much-anticipated new show Half Man gets UK start date confirmed by BBC
Half Man, starring Richard Gadd and Jamie Bell, is arriving on the BBC and HBO next month.
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Half Man actor breaks down the violent, complex character he shares with Richard Gadd – and why he originally wanted a different role
Stuart Campbell and Mitchell Robertson play the younger versions of the show's central characters, Ruben and Niall.
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Jamie Bell reveals his personal connection to gritty new role in Half Man: "I have a painful amount of self-loathing"
Jamie Bell found it easy to relate to his character in Half Man.
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New Peaky Blinders lead star features in first-look trailer for Baby Reindeer creator's gritty new BBC drama
Richard Gadd and Jamie Bell lead the cast of the six-part BBC drama.
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After Baby Reindeer I knew I had to transform everything about myself for my new TV series
Baby Reindeer brought success and pressure – but the follow-up series Half Man has been even more intense, writes Richard Gadd.
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Baby Reindeer's Richard Gadd in first look at new BBC drama tackling "broken men"
Jamie Bell also stars in the series, which is a co-production between the BBC and HBO.
See more about Half Man
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