IN 2024, RICHARD Gadd’s series Baby Reindeer became a sensation. Based on the true story of how he was stalked by a woman and assaulted by a peer, it garnered lots of headlines and a lot of attention for Gadd.

Now the actor and performer is back with a new series on BBC One called Half Man. But what’s it all about?

Let Best of the Box explain.

It initially had a different name

Richard Gadd and Jamie Bell in Half Man Anne Binckebanck Anne Binckebanck

The series was formerly called Lions, before the name was changed to Half Man. While Baby Reindeer was based on an Edinburgh Fringe show that Gadd performed, Half Man is an entirely fresh idea. 

The six-part series is about two Glaswegian men who have had an intense friendship since their teen years. Gadd, who is from Fife, plays Ruben Pallister, with Stuart Campbell as young Ruben. Jamie Bell (Billy Elliott, Skin) plays Niall Kennedy, with Mitchell Robertson as young Niall.

Other cast include Marianne McIvor as Maura, Ruben’s mother, and Neve McIntosh as Niall’s mother Lori.

The series is written and executive-produced by Gadd.

It’s about friendship and masculinity

Stuart Campbell plays young Ruben Anne Binckebanck Anne Binckebanck

Here’s how GQ described Ruben and Niall in an article about Gadd:

They are the epitome of polar opposites: the younger Niall is gentle, relentlessly bullied, and struggles with his sexuality, while big-brother type Ruben teems with volatile, violent machismo, seemingly primed to blow at any moment; he is a nuclear warhead of masculine rage. And yet they are utterly reliant on each other. 

Gadd himself said:

I felt it was interesting to explore dysfunctional manhood, where it comes from, and how it kind of evolves over time… Why male camaraderie is so intoxicating for people, and why male bonds are so strong, but also why the repercussions of negative male behaviour from that can be also extreme.

It all kicks off at a wedding

This is not the wedding... Anne Binckebanck Anne Binckebanck

The inciting incident in the first episode is Niall’s wedding - as Deadline puts it:

After an inseparable youth, Ruben turns up at Niall’s wedding three decades later, and everything seems different. He is on edge. Shifty. Not acting like himself. Soon, an explosion of violence takes place that catapults us back through their lives, from the ’80s to the present day.

Gadd has said the series is about contextualising aggressive male behaviour, so the story focuses on how Niall and Ruben connected, what draws them together (initially, their mothers living together) and why Niall would stay friends with someone on the precipice of violence.

As Niall puts it in this clip from the series, Ruben is both “the best and the worst”. 

If you’re into TV that’s challenging and intense, this is the sort of series for you. 

Gadd’s particularly great at creating complicated characters that defy our expectations. People who might want to do one thing but end up doing the opposite, or those who are drawn towards things and people who hurt them, rather than moving towards safety.

There’s absolutely an appetite out there now for shows that explore masculinity in all its forms, which is a big part of why Adolescence was such a huge hit last year. Half Man looks at masculinity across different ages, and both Ruben and Niall are knotty, layered characters. Gadd’s writing holds a mirror up to the viewers, making us ask what we recognise in these characters. 

It’s a big step for Gadd to create a show like this – one that’s not going to be easy to watch – for the BBC, so we’re really looking forward to seeing what he does with Half Man.

Half Man begins airing on BBC One on Tuesday 28 April at 10.40pm.