Following up on Baby Reindeer was an ambitious task — and the show’s creator, writer and star, Richard Gadd, knew it.
The 2024 dark thriller, based on Gadd’s real-life experience of being stalked, became one of the most dominant shows of awards season, winning at the Emmys, Golden Globes, Critics Choice, BAFTA TV and Gotham TV Awards. It also holds a 99 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Beyond critics, Baby Reindeer was a hit with viewers, as it entered Netflix’s all-time top 10 list for English-language shows, racking up 84.5 million views since it premiered that April
Now, Gadd is back with his highly anticipated follow-up, Half Man, a British six-episode limited series he created, wrote and stars in. Premiering Thursday night on HBO and BBC, the show follows the destructive, codependent 30-year bond between two brothers-in-all-but-DNA, Ruben (Gadd) and Niall (Jamie Bell).
Ahead of the release, Gadd spoke with The Hollywood Reporter at the show’s New York City premiere, where he acknowledged the pressure of following up such a breakout hit.
“I know the pressure’s there, and I know the expectation is there,” he said. “When I’m going through an artistic process, the pressure I put on myself is far greater than any external pressure. That’s the pressure every day to make something as good as I possibly can — and that outweighs everything else. I go into almost a tunnel vision, where the world disappears and the project becomes my everything. Now that I’m coming out the other side of it, I can acknowledge the pressure’s there.”
He added, gesturing to the packed screening audience: “There are so many people here, there’s so much hype around the project. But at the end of the day, I can never look back and think I didn’t give it absolutely everything. I promise you I did — and I will for any project I do moving forward.”
While Half Man and Baby Reindeer tell very different stories — with the former fictional and the latter autobiographical — both explore themes of trauma, masculinity and toxicity through a raw lens.
Gadd explained how the two projects connect.
“It borrows from the same world of broken people,” he said. “I’m interested in exploring contradictions of humanity — the joy, the sadness, the depths people can go to. Baby Reindeer, in my opinion, was a fundamental human story, and I wanted to do something similar with Half Man. In any story I tell, I want to lead with humanity.”
Stuart Campbell, who plays a young Ruben, said capturing the lighter moments between the characters was key — despite the relationship’s darker elements.
“I hope people root for the relationship as well as see the obvious dark themes,” he said. “That they recognize the lightness and truth in it.”
Still, Campbell noted that the new series stands apart.
“There are definitely some similar themes, but also plenty of differences,” he said. “Richard says, ‘The art chooses you, rather than you choosing the art.’ He’s writing about real people — whether it’s fiction or not — and telling truthful stories. As an actor, that’s what I’m drawn to.”
Alexandra Brodski, who directed the first three episodes, further explained the distinction.
“I actually think it’s very different,” she said. “There are some connected themes, but the tone and feel are not the same. What’s consistent is the honesty — the humor, the brutality and the willingness to go to places not many people dare to go. Nothing is there just for shock value, but there are shocking moments, and they always feel earned.”
While Half Man explores themes like toxic masculinity, Gadd said he doesn’t want to dictate how audiences interpret the story.
“I wouldn’t want to force any meaning onto anyone,” he said. “Art — TV, film, whatever — should be open to interpretation. People can take their own meanings from it, and that’s absolutely right to me.”
Half Man premieres Thursday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO.
