The BBC has finally released all six episodes of Richard Gadd’s horrifying but captivating new drama – ready for viewers to binge-watch (if you dare).
His new show comes two years after Baby Reindeer hit Netflix, shocking audiences the world over. A heartbreaking black comedy based on Gadd’s one-man show, the series followed a comedian whose life was ruined by an obsessed stalker.
Now, though his second TV series, Half Man, has fully dropped on BBC iPlayer and HBO Max, and it might be even more shocking than the first series.
Half Man follows estranged ‘brothers’ Reuben (Gadd) and Niall (Jamie Bell)across three decades, while exploring their volatile and intimate relationship.
The series has been met with rave reviews from critics, including Metro’s own Milo Pope.
In his four-star review, Milo wrote that the show was endlessly complex and wildly entertaining, promising fans their ‘eyes will be glued to the screen.’
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Milo wasn’t the only member of the press impressed by the show. Alex Flood from NME called it an ‘unpleasantly captivating drama’. While Chris Tilly at Dexerto branded it’ audacious and exhilarating six hours of television quite unlike anything out there’.
Indeed, the series has a respectable 77% on Rotten Tomatoes. And now the brutal sixth and final episode has landed, fans are sharing their overall verdict.
‘Finished watching Half Man. One of the most screwed-up TV shows I’ve ever seen. Things just kept getting worse and worse for the main characters it makes your blood boil. Twisted,’ @Ahmad wrote on X.
‘Thank you to Richard Gadd for this masterful and magnificent work,’ goutdemadame reflected.
‘Those raw emotions man.. Richard Gadd put his soul into this show no doubt,’ @youandialsoexo shared.
‘Finished series finale of Half Man and I’m sick to my stomach, Richard Gadd has an ability of showing the worst in humans that is beyond,’ @nichaolasneIson added.
For some, however, the intensity was enough to push them away altogether.
Emily Baker from ‘The i’ wrote that the show was even darker than Baby Reindeer and not in a good way.
‘Half Man is so bleak that it’s barely watchable,’ she opined. And it does seem like some people are switching off.
‘[I] stopped watching episode 1 of “Half Man” (HBO) at about the halfway point,’wrote @JoyceCarolOates on X.
‘Half Man is luridly entertaining in the sense that watching a boa constrictor devouring a helpless small creature might be “entertaining” — but not for everyone.’
@stbartz1 agreed writing: ‘Thank you joyce! I felt exactly the same way and stopped at the halfway point and said out loud as I was getting up, I don’t need to see any more of this.’
‘I’d heard how violent it was & chose not to watch it at all. Not regretting that decision,’ added @AnnieBannister.
‘Half Man was one of the most unhinged shows I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure if I like it or not lol,’ @TheAzzClown said.
Speaking about the layers to this show beyond the startling acts of violence, Gadd told Men’s Health: ‘I just didn’t want the show to be just about violence. The way the show was written, leaping decades forward in time, I wanted to keep the exploration of masculinity nuanced. Men face different pressures at different stages of their lives.
‘The pressure they feel as kids may be to be the strongest kid in the playground, which is very different to the pressure they might feel as adults, to be the breadwinner and main income-earner.
And, without giving away the ending, he concluded about the show: ‘To me it’s a show about love, the difficulty of communicating love to someone else, and the difficulty of communicating love for yourself.
‘Perhaps the whole thing would have been avoided had they just been able to love one another.’
From the looks of it, make sure you have a strong stomach before you click play.
If you’re curious to find out more about Half Man, you can watch it now on BBC iPlayer and HBO Max.
A version of this article was first published on April 25, 2026.
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