'Half Man' review: Is Richard Gadd's new series as good as 'Baby Reindeer'?

It's all very well making ground-breakingly good TV, but what happens when you have to follow it up?This is the challenge faced by Half Man, Richard Gadd’s new limited series following his massive success with 2024's Baby Reindeer. So how does the series, directed by Alexandra Brodski and Eshref Reybrouck, compare? Well, the two shows have their similarities and differences. Half Man isn't as funny as Baby Reindeer. Both are very dark. Both have characters at war with themselves. The question is, which is better? And how can Half Man hope to compete with a predecessor that earned so many viewers, armchair detectives, and awards? Set in Glasgow, Scotland, the six-episode BBC/HBO show jumps between two timelines. Each episode is framed by snapshots of a wedding in the present day. Niall (All of Us Strangers' Jamie Bell) is getting married. But the occasion is marred by the arrival of his step-brother Ruben (Gadd), who clearly has unfinished business with Niall that goes beyond wishing him all the best for the future.Flashbacks slowly reveal why. The first three episodes take us back to the main characters' teenage years, when a bullied Niall (Mitchell Robertson) sees his life upended