Four episodes into Half Man, it already feels impossible to predict where Richard Gadd’s BBC drama is heading next and that uncertainty is exactly what makes it so gripping.
The six-part series follows Niall and Ruben, two men bound together by grief, circumstance and a relationship that becomes increasingly difficult to untangle across three decades of their lives. They are not brothers by blood, but as the show repeatedly reminds us, they are about as close as two people can get.
Jamie Bell plays Niall, the quieter and more reserved of the pair, while Gadd himself plays Ruben, a deeply volatile figure whose presence brings a constant sense of danger to almost every scene he enters.
The series jumps between timelines, using each episode to move through key moments in Niall and Ruben’s lives. Episode one takes us back to 1987, where their intense bond first begins, before later chapters follow freshers’ week in 1989, a prison sentence dilemma in 1993 and Niall’s obsessive response to Ruben’s return in 2008. Through that fractured structure, Half Man explores brotherhood, repression, violence, masculinity and the terrifying fragility of male relationships.
Gadd has described the series as an attempt to explore “what it means to be a man in this ever-changing world,” particularly the ways male repression can lead to emotional isolation, anger and violence. The show does not shy away from difficult material either, with several moments across the series already proving deeply uncomfortable to watch in the most intentional way possible.
Episode four, which aired this week, pushed things even further. Without getting too deep into spoiler territory, the episode leaves viewers with major questions hanging over both Ruben and Niall ahead of the final two instalments. The series has always carried an overwhelming sense that violence could erupt at any moment, but the latest episode shifts the emotional ground underneath both characters in a way that changes how you view everything that came before it.
What makes Half Man so effective is that neither man is entirely innocent or monstrous. The series forces viewers into uncomfortable emotional territory, asking how much of a person is shaped by trauma, environment and the inability to express vulnerability before things curdle into something destructive.
At the same time, Half Man never feels like a lecture. For all its darkness, there is still warmth, tenderness and deep sadness running underneath it, particularly in the quieter moments between Ruben and Niall where the love they have for each other becomes painfully obvious, even when they are hurting one another most.
For CultureCues, Half Man already feels like one of the year’s strongest British dramas. It can be brutal and emotionally exhausting, with moments that sit in a deeply unsettling place, but it also feels incredibly human. Richard Gadd and Jamie Bell are both doing astonishing work here, and the fact the series still has two episodes left after that episode four ending honestly feels slightly terrifying.
Episode five of Half Man will be released on BBC iPlayer at 6am on Friday 22 May, before airing on BBC One at 10:40pm on Tuesday 26 May. US viewers can watch on HBO/Max.
Nikki Murray is a UK-based writer, screenwriter and founder & editor of CultureCues, covering film, television, music and pop culture. Her work focuses on storytelling and the moments shaping modern entertainment.