Half Man is a British six-part television drama created by Richard Gadd. It is a co-production by Thistledown Pictures and Mam Tor Productions for the BBC and HBO. The series stars Gadd, Jamie Bell, Stuart Campbell, and Mitchell Robertson. It premiered on 23 April 2026 on HBO and 28 April on BBC One (24 April on BBC iPlayer). The drama follows the tumultuous relationship of two men over the course of thirty years.

Half Man received generally positive reviews, with praise for its exploration of toxic masculinity and repression.

Premise Ruben (Stuart Campbell) and Niall (Mitchell Robertson) grew up as brothers despite not being related by blood—one strong and fiercely loyal, the other quiet and gentle. Thirty years later, they reunite at Niall's (Jamie Bell) wedding, but Ruben (Richard Gadd) seems uneasy and on edge; when a sudden act of violence erupts, it sends the story back through their shared past, revealing how their bond was shaped and how even the closest relationships can ultimately fall apart.

Cast and characters Main Jamie Bell as Niall Kennedy Mitchell Robertson as young Niall Richard Gadd as Ruben Pallister Stuart Campbell as young Ruben

Recurring Neve McIntosh as Lori Kennedy, Niall's mother Marianne McIvor as Maura Pallister, Ruben's mother Charlie De Melo as Alby Safadi Bilal Hasna as young Alby Anjli Mohindra as Ava Tim Downie as Daniel Tom Andrews as Butch Amy Manson as Mona Shiels Charlotte Blackwood as young Mona Sandy Batchelor as Gus Piers Ewart as young Gus Kate Robson-Stuart as Joanna Julie Cullen as young Joanna Stuart McQuarrie as Mr. Jenkins

Production Development The series was announced by BBC One in February 2024. It has Richard Gadd as writer and executive producer. Alexandra Brodski and Eshref Reybrouck directed three episodes each. The series came from the London-based Mam Tor Productions and Thistledown Pictures with Tally Garner and Morven Reid executive producers for Mam Tor alongside Gaynor Holmes for the BBC and Gavin Smith for BBC Scotland. Wendy Griffin served as a producer. In June 2024, HBO joined the project. In November 2024, the project was revealed to have the title Half Man with filming scheduled to commence in Scotland in 2025. Gadd has described the series, previously titled Lions, as being about a pair of brothers. Gadd wrote the role of Niall with Jamie Bell in mind, but had not intended to play Ruben himself until Bell convinced him to.

Casting Richard Gadd and Jamie Bell were confirmed in the lead roles in November 2024. In February 2025, Mitchell Robertson, Stuart Campbell, Neve McIntosh, Marianne McIvor, Charlie De Melo, Bilal Hasna, Julie Cullen, Amy Manson, Philippine Velge, Stuart McQuarrie, Piers Ewart, Scot Greenan, Charlotte Blackwood, and Calum Manchip joined the cast.

Filming Principal photography began in February 2025. Filming locations include Glasgow, Scotland. In July 2025, it was revealed that filming had been wrapped.

Episodes

In the scenes from the wedding day intercut with episodes from the past, one can see people from Niall's life among the guests, including his mother, Joanna, Ava, and Gus.

Release Half Man had its world premiere as the opening series of the 2026 Canneseries. The series premiered on 23 April 2026 on HBO in the US and on BBC iPlayer on 24 April 2026 in the UK, with the BBC One and BBC Scotland broadcast the following week.

Reception Critical response On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 79%, based on 72 critic reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Richard Gadd delivers a broodingly bleak sophomore effort that dares to plumb the depths of toxic masculinity and repression in a complex and unsettling tale that makes for unsettlingly good TV." On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the series holds a score of 67 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Reviewing for The Guardian, Lucy Mangan gave the series five stars out of five, writing: "Half Man is a bleak and brilliant thing. It has its weak spots – the women are underwritten ... and I'm not sure I buy the final detonation, which sets up the scene in the barn – but these are quibbles. Gadd's drama is brave and blazing ... If Jack Thorne's Adolescence is to be shown in schools, Half Man needs to be shown in any place men gather."

The Independent critic Nick Hilton was more critical, awarding the series two out of five stars, writing: "It feels like a show in search of meaning, a plot looking for a story – and, frankly, it's a huge misfire ... it's hard to escape the nagging suspicion that Gadd's sophomore programme is a calculated attempt to make something brave and startling and important and all the other adjectives that were applied, more authentically, to Baby Reindeer."

In her review for the BBC, Caryn James gave the series four out of five stars, writing: "Even when the characters are unrelatable, though, Gadd's power as a writer comes through. He doesn't ask for pity for these damaged men. He successfully asks for understanding and sympathy, and does that in his distinct, jolting, culturally resonant voice."

Mike Hale of The New York Times argued that Half Man expands the scale of Baby Reindeer but not its substance. Despite strong acting and occasionally entertaining moments, Hale found the series emotionally shallow and repetitive. By the end, he opined the most sympathetic characters are the people harmed by the protagonist, making it difficult to stay invested in the story.

Carlos Aguilar of the Los Angeles Times described the series as a dark, psychologically rich drama that continues Gadd's interest in trauma and complicated human behavior. Aguilar wrote that while the show is violent and bleak, it aims to provide empathy and context for damaged characters by showing how Niall and Ruben's "cancerous brotherhood threatens to obliterate them both." Writing about the finale, Aaron Balick of GQ praised the show as "far more nuanced than another commentary on 'toxic masculinity, adding that the reason "Gadd's work is so difficult to watch is that he forces us to bear, rather than split off, the bewildering and paradoxical consequences of trauma".

Inkoo Kang of The New Yorker described Half Man as pushing a male relationship dynamic far beyond familiar TV depictions, calling it "thornier than any other male bond on TV" and "as complicated, codependent, and, at times, troublesomely erotic as it can get." She commented that Half Man is a "richer and more mature" treatment of themes previously explored in Baby Reindeer, such as sexual shame, victimhood, and complicity. Though Kang wrote Ruben can at times feel more "like a cautionary tale than a fully realized character", she praised the writing and portrayal of Niall. She wrote that Jamie Bell, "whose screen roles have long radiated decency and sensitivity, channels that guilelessness once more, only to expose it as yet another façade that helps Niall to conceal his darker impulses".

Accolades Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result 2026 Astra TV Awards Best Limited Series Half Man Best Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie Richard Gadd Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie Jamie Bell Dorian TV Awards Best LGBTQ TV Show Half Man Best TV Movie or Limited Series Best Leading TV Performance – Drama Jamie Bell Best Supporting TV Performance – Drama Richard Gadd Gotham TV Awards Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series Outstanding Lead Performance in a Limited or Anthology Series Jamie Bell National Film Awards Best TV Drama Series Half Man Best Producer – Film & TV Tally Garner, Morven Reid, and Richard Gadd Best Actor in a TV Series Richard Gadd Best Supporting Actor in a TV Series Jamie Bell Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series Anjli Mohindra Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Richard Gadd TCA Awards Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries or Specials Half Man

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