Half Man Reviews: Baby Reindeer Creator Richard Gadd's New Show Splits Critics

Some are calling Half Man the "best show of 2026" while others have claimed it's too "emotionally draining" to truly enjoy.

Richard Gadd’s biographical Netflix drama Baby Reindeer won over the critics and viewers all over the world when it was released in 2024, earning six Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes.

However, critics are far more divided over his follow-up series, Half Man. with some saying it is too violent and dark.

Starring Richard and Jamie Bell as two half-brothers with an explosive, toxic relationship and follows them from childhood, through their awkward teens and into adulthood, Half Man is a dark exploration of toxic masculinity, repression and male rage.

Ahead of its release on Thursday, reviews were split over whether the project was a vital piece of television that’s among the year’s best or slightly too much to stomach.

Here’s a selection of what the critics are saying about Half Man so far…

“It leaves you with that rare and precious feeling that everyone involved – Gadd, of course, who has once again pulled out his viscera, spread them over the page and taken a scalpel to every bloody organ, but every actor too (Bell is on career-best form and then some here) – has given us the very best of themselves.”

“The best show of 2026 [...] Half Man will be a lot of things to a lot of people, and that’s where its brilliance lies. Many will instantly draw parallels with ongoing conversations about toxic masculinity, and that’s important. But this drama actually speaks to so much more than that, and what you will get out of it as a viewer........

© HuffPost