HBO Max‘s new thriller series fights for streaming success.
HBO Max’s TV show lineup is quite stacked in 2026. The streaming service has had hits like the Game of Thrones spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the Steve Carell comedy Rooster, the crime thriller DTF St. Louis, and more. Before major returning shows like House of the Dragon and Dune: Prophecy or new releases like DC’s Lanterns and the Harry Potter reboot arrive on the streamer, another show with a huge star is currently trending on HBO’s charts all over the world.
According to FlixPatrol, Half Man is currently the 5th most-watched TV show on HBO Max worldwide. The new 6-part thriller series debuted on April 23 with only its first episode. The remaining episodes will be released weekly. Half Man tops shows like the crime thriller Memory of a Killer, the supernatural From, the psychological thriller The Idol, which recently had a streaming resurgence on HBO Max, and more. Above HBO’s new thriller series on the global charts are Rooster, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, The Pitt, and Euphoria, which leads the streamer after its long-awaited return with season 3.
Half Man is trending in 47 countries. That said, the thriller series is not currently the most-watched TV show on HBO Max in any of them, which could change when more episodes release. Some of those countries include Switzerland, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, and Germany. At the time of writing, Half Man’s highest position on HBO Max’s charts is 3rd, with the new thriller series reaching that spot in Belgium and Italy. While lower, Half Man is also present in the United States’ HBO Max TV show chart.
Richard Gadd fighting an opponent in Half Man
Half Man is currently the 7th most-watched TV show on HBO Max in the United States. The new streaming arrival ranks higher than Evil Lives Here: My Child the Killer, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and Hollywood Demons on HBO Max’s nationwide chart. Half Man is topped by shows like DTF St. Louis, Real Time with Bill Maher, Rooster, Hacks, The Pitt, and Euphoria. On Rotten Tomatoes, Half Man is at a strong 74% critics’ score and a slightly better 75% audience score, indicating how the show is off to a solid global start.
The British drama series was created by Richard Gadd, who was behind the Netflix global hit Baby Reindeer. In fact, it is Gadd’s first show after the Netflix psychological thriller series, which helps boost the HBO project. Half Man follows the relationship between Gadd’s Ruben Pallister and Jamie Bell’s Niall Kennedy, two brothers that could not be more different from one another if they tried. This decades-spanning story promises many intense moments as the violent and quiet brothers’ styles clash over the years.
If it plays like Netflix’s Baby Reindeer, which became one of the streamer’s most popular TV shows and boasts a near-perfect 99% critics’ score and a high 81% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, Half Man is on its way to becoming one of HBO Max’s biggest hits in 2026.
Release Date
April 23, 2026
Network
HBO, BBC One, BBC Scotland
Directors
Alexandra Brodski
Cast
Mitchell Robertson
Young Niall
Stuart Campbell
Young Ruben