Baby Reindeer creator: My next show will be 'more dramatic'

The Herald Scotland

14-05-2025

In a Vanity Fair interview, he suggested the new show, which is set and is being filmed in and around Glasgow, would 'borrow from the same world of broken people' as Baby Reindeer, which was based on Gadd's own experiences of being stalked, and "traverses the darkest human experiences."
Read more:
Commissioned for BBC One and BBC Scotland, Half Man, which Gadd has written and is executive producing, was announced shortly before Baby Reindeer premiered on Netflix.
Spanning almost 40 years, from the 1980s to the present day, it focuses on the relationship between the main characters, brothers Ruben and Niall, played by Gadd and Bell respectively, who are said to have become estranged.
Richard Gadd wrote and starred in Baby Reindeer. (Image: Supplied)
The official synopsis states: 'Half Man will cover the highs and lows of the brothers' relationship, from them meeting as teenagers to 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 try to get to the bottom of the difficult question...what does it mean to be a man?'
Speaking to Vanity Fair, Gadd said: 'It's about two dysfunctional brothers, but their relationship is a little weirder than brothers. You meet them in a very peculiar situation, and you don't really know why or how they got there, and they're having a very weird conversation.
'It then flashes back to six epochs in their lives, six different moments, one in each episode, and you start to understand how they've gotten to this point.
'It's an exploration of masculinity, and I'm reticent to say toxic masculinity because I think that expression has become quite tired.
'But, for something to be toxic, it has to be intoxicating first. Drugs are toxic, but they're intoxicating.
'I really wanted to get some sort of understanding back into male camaraderie and male relationships. The euphoric, captivating, and exhilarating parts of that, as well as how it all goes wrong.
'I would say it borrows from the same world of broken people as Baby Reindeer, but it's probably a little more dramatic—though it still has comedy moments. It borrows from a similar world and traverses the darkest human experiences, but it's a little more on the dramatic end.
'Every episode is hourlong, which is a huge challenge in itself because Baby Reindeer was half-hour-ish.'
Gadd admitted he had found it 'a little surreal' working on Half Man over the last year while he has been grappling with the huge success of Baby Reindeer, which won Emmy and Golden Globe awards, and the worldwide media interest the show has generated.
He said: 'It has been two shows back-to-back without even a day's break, and in the past year, I've been writing the (new) show, acting in the show, producing the show, while all this stuff has been going on.
'It has been so hard amongst press calls, and legal calls, and your neighbors knocking, and your exes messaging you to say the press are at their door. But we're actually filming now.'
Gadd said viewers would see 'a very new Jamie Bell' in Half Man.
He added: 'I'm such a control freak when it comes to my work, though I've been told not to use that phrase…I'm very fastidious, or obsessive, or whatever. And I've always felt resistant to fame in my shows, because sometimes famous actors come with certain caveats or demands.
'Jamie is by far the most famous person I've ever worked with, and he's completely reframed my opinion of fame, because he is so humble. He throws in, he takes notes, he brings great ideas, and he has a great attitude.
He's funny, and kind, and all those things. I've worked with actors who were one-eighth as famous as he is, who almost derail a set with how difficult they are. And if he can do it, there's no excuses for anybody.
'I think he's really going to shine in the show, and there are times when I look at him and think, oh wow, people are going to see a very new Jamie Bell.'