All six episodes of Richard Gadd's horrifying but captivating new drama are now available for streaming on BBC iPlayer and HBO Max. The series, titled Half Man, arrives two years after Gadd's groundbreaking Baby Reindeer shocked audiences worldwide. That heartbreaking black comedy, based on Gadd's one-man show, followed a comedian whose life was destroyed by an obsessed stalker. Now, Half Man may be even more intense.
What Is Half Man About?
The series follows estranged 'brothers' Reuben (played by Gadd) and Niall (Jamie Bell) across three decades, exploring their volatile and intimate relationship. The show has been met with rave reviews from critics, including Metro's Milo Pope, who gave it four stars and called it 'endlessly complex and wildly entertaining,' promising viewers their 'eyes will be glued to the screen.'
Critical Acclaim and Audience Reaction
Alex Flood of NME described it as an 'unpleasantly captivating drama,' while Chris Tilly of Dexerto branded it 'audacious and exhilarating six hours of television quite unlike anything out there.' The series holds a respectable 77% on Rotten Tomatoes. With the brutal sixth and final episode now out, fans are sharing their verdicts.
'Finished watching Half Man. One of the most screwed-up TV shows I've ever seen. Things just kept getting worse and worse for the main characters it makes your blood boil. Twisted,' wrote @Ahmad on X. 'Thank you to Richard Gadd for this masterful and magnificent work,' reflected goutdemadame. 'Those raw emotions man.. Richard Gadd put his soul into this show no doubt,' shared @youandialsoexo. 'Finished series finale of Half Man and I'm sick to my stomach, Richard Gadd has an ability of showing the worst in humans that is beyond,' added @nichaolasneIson.
However, some found the intensity too much. Emily Baker of The i wrote that the show was even darker than Baby Reindeer and 'not in a good way,' calling it 'so bleak that it's barely watchable.' Some viewers switched off early. '@JoyceCarolOates wrote: '[I] stopped watching episode 1 of "Half Man" (HBO) at about the halfway point. Half Man is luridly entertaining in the sense that watching a boa constrictor devouring a helpless small creature might be "entertaining" — but not for everyone.' @stbartz1 agreed, and @AnnieBannister added: 'I'd heard how violent it was & chose not to watch it at all. Not regretting that decision.'
Gadd's Vision for the Series
Speaking about the layers beyond the violence, Gadd told Men's Health: 'I just didn't want the show to be just about violence. The way the show was written, leaping decades forward in time, I wanted to keep the exploration of masculinity nuanced. Men face different pressures at different stages of their lives. The pressure they feel as kids may be to be the strongest kid in the playground, which is very different to the pressure they might feel as adults, to be the breadwinner and main income-earner.' He concluded: 'To me it's a show about love, the difficulty of communicating love to someone else, and the difficulty of communicating love for yourself. Perhaps the whole thing would have been avoided had they just been able to love one another.'
If you're curious, Half Man is now streaming on BBC iPlayer and HBO Max. But make sure you have a strong stomach before you click play.
