Half Man, Richard Gadd's new six-part BBC series, has been described as a brutal and pointless misfire, failing to capture the magic of his breakout hit Baby Reindeer. The show, co-starring Jamie Bell, follows extremely dysfunctional stepbrothers Ruben (Gadd) and Niall (Bell), whose lives are marked by violence, sex, and a cosmic bond that tears them apart repeatedly.
A Tale of Star-Crossed Brothers
The series opens with Ruben, a bearded biker in leathers, crashing Niall's wedding. The two grew up together as stepbrothers after their parents' relationship, with Niall struggling with his sexuality and Ruben embodying delinquent charisma. An act of violence separates them, and as adults, they drift apart and reunite in a cycle of dysfunction. Flatmate Celeste (Philippine Velge) observes their stark differences, noting one needs a head and the other a body, but instead of complementing each other, they reach new depths of dysfunction.
Gadd's Follow-Up Dilemma
Following Baby Reindeer, Gadd faced the challenge of repeating his personal formula or doing something entirely different. Half Man, produced by the BBC in collaboration with HBO, seems caught between these two impulses. The result is a show in search of meaning, a plot looking for a story, and ultimately a huge misfire.
Unlikeable Characters
A major issue is the unlikeability of the central characters. Ruben has a dark tendency toward violence and abuse, while Niall is a coward who hides behind his stepbrother's glamour. The show fails to extract sympathy for either, especially Ruben, who repeatedly inflicts brutal violence on innocent parties. The supporting cast is equally hard to root for: Ruben's wife Mona (Amy Manson) is selfish, and Niall's mother Lori (Neve McIntosh) offers dubious wisdom. The series lacks the genuine pathos that made Baby Reindeer compelling, instead presenting cartoonishly exaggerated characters who speak in overwritten soundbites.
A Rambling Plot
The plot rambles over multiple decades, feeling like a dark, misanthropic novel from the 1980s but struggling as a six-hour entertainment piece. Bell acts his socks off, while Gadd writes himself a character with limitless sexual charisma, often shirtless. Yet the show feels pointless, with a streak of nihilism that suggests neither Niall nor Ruben can escape their childhood. Nothing can change their doom-laden trajectory, as if written in the stars. However, even with this charitable interpretation, it's hard to escape the suspicion that Half Man is a calculated attempt to replicate the brave, startling, and important qualities that were more authentically applied to Baby Reindeer.
