Image via HBO
Published Apr 21, 2026, 9:01 AM EDT
Therese Lacson is a Senior TV Editor who has been with Collider since 2021. She got started in this business over ten years ago working primarily as an interviewer and critic. At Collider, she works closely with the features team to support the writers and also ideates and develops content daily. She has covered major industry events including Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, Toronto International Film Festival, and San Diego Comic-Con. Although she reviews and covers both film and television, her focus is in television and her expertise is in fantasy and sci-fi genre shows. Her favorite shows to cover include House of the Dragon, Bridgerton, Fallout, 9-1-1, and Rivals.
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Baby Reindeer undoubtedly took the world by storm when it first premiered on Netflix in 2024. Darkly funny, stressful, and addictive to watch, viewers experienced creator Richard Gadd's lived experience of being stalked. Now, with HBO's Half Man, Gadd's sophomore series delves into familiar territory but ramps up everything for a story about two brothers in a toxic and dangerous relationship with each other. Gadd stars once again, this time alongside Jamie Bell, in a series that serves up heaping doses of lessons on masculinity, homophobia, and self-harm, along with bloody violence. Baby Reindeer wasn't for the faint of heart, but it's nothing compared to the non-stop tension in Half Man.
What Is 'Half Man' About?
Half Man's story begins when Niall Kennedy is still a teenager, played by Mitchell Robertson. His mother, Lori (Neve McIntosh), has recently brought her girlfriend, Maura (Marianne McIvor), to live with them, and Niall learns that Maura's son, Ruben Pallister (Stuart Campbell), is also moving in — and will be staying in his room. Niall struggles with being bullied at school, both because he is mousy and soft-spoken and because it's common knowledge that his mother is a lesbian. Ruben, who is easily classified as a delinquent with anger issues, scares the more timid Niall, but when Ruben handles Niall's bullies for him — beating one to a pulp in the process — the two form a deeper bond as brothers.
As the men grow up, Niall realizes that he is gay, but due to the immense homophobia he suffered at school and Ruben's own homophobic slurs, he lives in fear and shame. At university, trying to start over fresh without the influence of Ruben or his past, Niall meets a boy named Alby (Bilal Hasna) and begins to explore his sexuality. However, when Ruben comes crashing back into Niall's life, things take a brutally tragic turn that sets the two brothers on a path of anger, violence, and regret.
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This dynamic continues into adulthood, where Niall, now played by Bell, is a struggling writer and Ruben, now played by Gadd, has spent over a decade in prison. The brothers' toxic and co-dependent relationship leads to self-hatred and bitterness in both men, but beneath all of that insecurity, the two have formed a seemingly unbreakable bond. However, as both Niall and Ruben self-sabotage through the years, with Niall's cowardice and non-confrontational behavior causing more and more problems, it all culminates explosively at Niall's wedding, 30 years after Ruben first came to live with him and his mom.
'Half Man' Offers Richard Gadd Another Chance To Shine Alongside a Talented Cast
What makes Half Man work is Gadd's performance and narrative. Ruben is a difficult character to like, but impossible to fully hate. He's also a human live wire; it's not a matter of if he's going to lose his temper, but when. Gadd plays Ruben with all the rage of a caged beast, a man who has lost most of his life to living inside a cell, as well as a boy with so much buried rage and trauma that he's spent a lifetime trying to compensate for it while running from his demons. This is also reflected in Campbell's performance as the teenage Ruben. While all four actors playing the two leads are fantastic, Campbell is the surprise hit of the series, able to harness both the fragility and the bravado of a teenage boy.
On the flip side, Bell's Niall is easy to like, but it's impossible not to be frustrated with him as he makes mistake after mistake, haunted by his own shame for decades, and is unable to come to terms with his identity. While Robertson homes in on Niall's innocence and his anxiety in his youth, Bell's portrayal is heartbreaking as the viewer learns that the boy who had so much promise early in the series has grown up to be a failure, struggling financially and emotionally wrecked by the events of his past. Niall's characterization sometimes lacks nuance, even bordering on stereotype at some points, but Bell's magnetic portrayal of a deeply flawed man keeps it centered.
'Half Man' Fully Embraces Tension and Never Once Hits the Brakes
Image via HBOOne of the cornerstones of Baby Reindeer is its unrelenting story, and it's a technique Gadd has perfected with his newest series. Although there's a tinge of humor in places, Half Man is a far darker tale. Ruben and Niall's anger and insecurity mirror each other, and when they're together, they become the worst versions of themselves. At first, their connection feels almost parasitical, but even when the true love between these men is exposed, disaster is never far behind.
The gut-wrenching part of the story is the fact that despite everything they've put each other through, Ruben and Niall still love and care for each other. It's far from a healthy relationship, but it's one that's been forged in the fires of masculine rage and honed through the years they've spent becoming entangled. Some of the show's most anxiety-filled scenes are rooted in Niall's terror of what Ruben might do, with the viewer fully aware that that fear is well-founded. Gadd is terrifying as Ruben, with his stony stare and gruff tone, and the moments when he lets that tough exterior slip in favor of the version of himself that he's buried deep inside feel like a mirage. The story is told almost exclusively through Niall's point of view, which not only makes Ruben a somewhat mysterious character but also one that Niall has misunderstood.
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Unraveling the truth about Ruben becomes one of the most rewarding parts of Half Man, especially in the way that Gadd uses flashbacks to the show's benefit. The majority of the story is told in chronological order, starting when Niall and Ruben are teenagers. However, the series is also framed by the events of Niall's wedding day, 30 years later. Half Man starts there, and as snippets of the day are spread out throughout six episodes, the past is slowly unveiled, leading to tension, misdirection, and devastating twists.
'Half Man' Isn't Without Its Missteps
Image via HBOWhere Half Man stumbles is in its portrayal of Niall's sexuality. A lot of time is given to Niall as he goes back and forth on whether to come out to Ruben, and as he spirals further in life, some familiar and harmful stereotypes of gay men slowly begin to emerge. While this part of Niall's story is actually quite nuanced when connected to Ruben, Niall's individual sex life often veers into problematic territory. He is never once shown to have a positive sexual relationship with a man, with most of his encounters either transactional or filled with self-loathing.
The people around Niall act like it's not a big deal for him to come out, including his own lesbian mother; there's even one gay character who pushes Niall so hard to come out that he's almost outed against his will. Similarly, his relationship with Ruben, especially while they're teenagers, is homoerotic to the point of being explicit. It's clear that Niall, at least as a young man, was deeply attracted to Ruben, while Ruben wields every opportunity to use homosexuality as an insult against Niall. This often veers into the territory of sexual assault and coercive behavior that is not only alarming but is also never really acknowledged.
Despite several flaws, which include the fact that the series barely has any female characters who matter at all (aside from Lori), Half Man is still masterfully tense, shining most when it centers around its two leading characters and their complicated relationship. Gadd is clearly no stranger to exploring the flaws of performative masculinity and society's expectations of men in particular, and Half Man is a shining example. The themes of obsession, guilt, addiction, and a desperate search for peace in a life full of chaos have become Gadd's calling card. With Half Man, he solidifies his reputation by stripping his second project of any real connection to his comedy roots and demonstrating what's possible when he tells a story about utter ruin.
Half Man premieres April 23 on HBO.
Release Date April 23, 2026
Network HBO, BBC One, BBC Scotland
Directors Alexandra Brodski
Cast
Pros & Cons
- Richard Gadd and Jamie Bell are absolutely fantastic across each other, especially in the second half of the series.
- Stuart Campbell's performance as a young Ruben is a standout of the series.
- Once again, Gadd harnesses trauma and investigates a difficult topic without a clean or easy answer.
- The violence, both sexual and not, can often be overwhelming to the point of becoming difficult to watch.
- Niall's portrayal as a conflicted gay man sometimes leans too far into negative stereotypes.
English (US) ·