With 2024 hit series Baby Reindeer, Richard Gadd proved himself as a phenomenal dramatist, able to write a story which is both shocking and surprising, while also crucially feeling very real.
It seems that is set to continue in Half Man, Gadd’s new show for the BBC and HBO, in which he stars alongside Jamie Bell.
Speaking at a Q&A for the series, executive producer Sophie Gardiner said that the show features “nuanced twists and turns that continue throughout the whole series, whether that’s emotional twists and turns in these characters, or whether it’s story twists.”
Gardiner added: “It’s continually surprising and authentic. And I think that’s an unusual combination. So I advise you to watch [it] all.”
The six-part series follows Ruben and Niall, two very different young men who are at first played by Stuart Campbell and Mitchell Robertson.
They are brought into each other’s lives through circumstance, and form an unlikely brotherhood. However, when we meet them 30 years later at Niall’s wedding, when they are played by Gadd and Bell, an explosion of violence take place, following which we chart how they got to this moment.
At the Q&A for Half Man, Gadd revealed that he actually wrote the script for the show’s first episode before Baby Reindeer, inspired by the societal “conversation around men, male behaviour, male violence, male repression, all these things”.
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He also explained why he always wanted the show to be made for the BBC, revealing his own career was inspired at an early age by watching The Office, and understanding Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s role behind it.
As well as the central four, playing their shared roles, the series also stars Neve McIntosh (Doctor Who), Marianne McIvor (The Bombing of Pan Am 103), Charlie De Melo (Rivals), Bilal Hasna (The Agency), Julie Cullen (Traces), Amy Manson (The Nevers) and Anjli Mohindra (The Lazarus Project).
Half Man will arrive on BBC iPlayer at 6am on Friday 24 April 2026.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
