Baby Reindeer creator's new series about an "explosion of violence" between a pair of estranged brothers gets a first look showing off the main characters

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Here's your first look at the main characters of Richard Gadd's Half Man

Jamie Bell as Niall and Richard Gadd as Ruben staring intensely at each other across a table in a cafe in Half Man
(Image credit: HBO Max/BBC)

Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd has a new limited series on the way titled Half Man, through HBO Max and BBC. Gadd himself will be joined by Jamie Bell in the six-episode series as a pair of brothers whose contentious relationship is explored throughout the timeline of their lives. Now, HBO Max has released the first look at the series in an image of Gadd and Bell together as brothers Niall and Ruben, seen above.

The brothers will be played as teens by Michtell Robinson, who doubles for Jamie Bell's Niall, and Stuart Campbell as Richard Gadd's Ruben. The pair's relationship and history of family trauma will inform the story which brings them back together after years of estrangement.

Here's the official logline for the series:

"Half Man follows estranged 'brothers' Niall (Jamie Bell) and Ruben (Richard Gadd). When Niall's estranged 'brother' Ruben shows up at his wedding, it leads to an explosion of violence that catapults us back through their lives. Spanning almost 40 years from the '80s to the present day, Mitchell Robertson and Stuart Campbell portray Niall (Robertson) and Ruben (Campbell) in their younger years, in a series that explores the highs and lows of Ruben and Niall’s relationship, from meeting them as troubled teenagers to witnessing their falling out as adults – with all the good, bad, terrible, funny, angry, and challenging moments along the way. The series will capture the wild energy of a changing city – a changing world, even – and plumb the depths of what it means to be a man."

Themes of abuse and family drama are common in Gadd's work, with his previous series Baby Reindeer dealing with a young comedian who is beset by a stalker, leading him to confront his own traumatic past. The series is partially autobiographical, based on Gadd's time as a stand-up comedian and his subsequent trauma.

Half Man will premiere on HBO Max and BBC in 2026. While we wait, check out the 25 best shows on HBO Max right now.

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George Marston
George Marston

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)

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