STREAMING:

(Stan, Channel 4 UK, HBO Max US)

IT’S A SIN, MARCO…

Imagine all the traumatic issues related to growing up gay in the ’80s – family rejection, judgmental churches, hateful society, police brutality, legal stigma, HIV/AIDS and its merciless deaths – and then wrap them in humour, warmth and humanity and present them in the context of all that’s wonderful about being gay so that the finished product is a celebration of all things queer, of acceptance and triumph.

That’s what writer Russell T Davies has done in this brilliant, compassionate and compelling look at being gay in the ’80s, picking up more or less where his original Queer As Folk left off.

A bunch of English queer kids leave home and escape to London where they meet and become friends, flat mates, occasional lovers, and a common support group who help one another withstand lecherous closeted bosses, bigoted neighbours and the long brutal arm of the law.

The world without pushes them into solidarity within and they discover the sheer joy and freedom of sex, sexuality and acceptance of self and each other.

But anyone who lived through this era knows where it’s headed. As you fall in love with the characters, you’ll wish for all you’re worth that it won’t go there. But it has to.

British pop singer Olly Alexander leads the cast as Ritchie, the charismatic central focus of the group. He can sing, is attractive, and can really act.

Mostly unknowns fill the roles around him, and they’re all excellent, especially Lydia West as Jill (Dracular, Years And Years). Her character earns the right to deliver a crushing speech from the perspective of a child laying the full brunt of unmitigated guilt at the feet of a rejecting, grieving, homophobic parent.

Stephen Fry, on screen for just a few scenes, is delightful as a wicked old prune. Neil Patrick Harris is also great as a sweet tailor-shop attendant who’s been living with his partner for three decades. Keeley Hawes is the stoic mother who won’t compromise her beliefs for anyone, even a dying son.

It’s a timely reminder of how the world failed to deal properly with a previous pandemic and a tribute to those remarkable allies who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with those who would fall. (5 episodes)