Netflix has a major show launching this week – and it’s a must-watch

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(Image credit: Channel 4)

Olly Alexander as Ritchie Tozer in It�s a Sin

(Image credit: Channel 4)

Look, I get it. YourNetflixwatchlist is full. You don’t have time for another “must-watch” TV show. Whether it’s Better Caul Saul, Ozark, The Witcher orBridgerton, there’s too much good stuff out there. Let me tell you right now: you need to make room for this show.

It’s a Sin from Russell T. Davies, best known for Doctor Who and A Very English Scandal, focuses on the daily lives of a group of friends during the HIV / AIDS crisis. That topic manner might immediately put you off due to its uncomfortable nature. Don’t let it. It’s a Sin is a compelling character piece like no other. I’m not trying to be hyperbolic – it’s that good. And it’s important that more people come to understand just what happened and how many gay men it affected.

Without giving away too much, Ritchie denies the existence of the crisis while others like Colin, a sweet Welsh lad, encounter the effects from colleagues first-hand. We then get the other end of the spectrum from Lydia West’s Jill Baxter, an aids activist who becomes more entangled with the issue, seeing just how this hideous disease not only affected people physically but mentally.

Over the next decade, we see how the epidemic plays out, dipping in and out of the gang’s lives. It’s a sporadically harrowing watch but an important one. In little over a month of release, It’s a Sin accumulated close to 19 million views onAll 4(the original streaming platform it debuted), earning itself the accolades of “the streaming service’s biggest ever instant box set and the most binged to date”. Furthermore, HIV tests at theTerrence Higgins Trustmore than tripled when compared to its previous biggest day, following the show’s conclusion.

That takes some doing. It’s a Sin is something special, I truly believe that. The impact that the five-part miniseries created was one of the biggest talking points of 2021. Countless awards for the cast and crew have been awarded with more likely on the way – including the British Academy Television Awards, due to take place in May 2022.

(Image credit: Channel 4)

Olly Alexander, Lydia West, Callum Scott Howells, Omari Douglas and Nathaniel Curtis in It’s a Sin

(Image credit: Channel 4)

There’s something astoundingly real, raw and truly remarkable about these characters. As someone who was fortunate enough to not have lived through this horrendous time, I can’t imagine the constant anxiety and anguish these people went through, simply from being gay. All I can say is that if you watch one show this year, make sure it’s this one.

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It’s a Sin stars Olly Alexander, Lydia West, Callum Scott Howells, Omari Douglas, Nathaniel Curtis, Keeley Hawes and Neil Patrick Harris. The full series will be available to stream from April 20th onNetflixin the UK, or it can alternatively be found on HBO Max in the US.

To find out more about HIV, head to theTerrence Higgins Trustwebsite for further information.

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