TV Drama: It’s A Sin by Russell T Davies

Russell T Davies made his name in 1999 as the creator of Queer as Folk, the groundbreaking TV series. It explored the lives of gay men living in Manchester around Canal Street area. Their sexual exploits were chronicled in considerable detail. It was the first TV series in the UK to put gay characters centre stage. The age of consent was being debated in the House of Lords at the time. Queer as Folk captured the zeitgeist – it still stands up as a compelling drama two decades later.

Davies went on to revive Doctor Who after it had been off air for sixteen years. He also wrote a brilliant adaptation of Casanova’s memoirs in 2005, starring David Tennant. Davies also created Torchwood, the popular Dr Who spinoff.

His latest show is a five-episode drama chronicling the HIV and AIDS crisis. It’s A Sin (named after the Pet Shop Boys song) begins in 1981. It’s the first TV drama to show the HIV crisis from a British perspective. Notable US dramas like Angels in America and more recently Pose have done so to great critical acclaim.

 

It’s A Sin stars Olly Alexander as Richie Tozer, an 18 year-old exploring the London gay scene in the early 80s. The sexual revolution of the 1960s and 70s ushered in a bacchanalian party that seemingly would never end – chiefly in major cities like New York and London. The spirit of the time was captured by Studio 54, a wild, sex-positive nightclub where almost anything was permissible. But a big disease with a little name soon wreaked havoc among gay men.

The virus seemingly came out of nowhere. No one understood it. The party was officially over. A club like Studio 54 could never have existed in the post-HIV landscape. The 80s was a difficult decade to be a gay man, especially the early part of it when ignorance reigned supreme.

The protagonist of It’s A Sin had the misfortune to come of age during a brutal plague. Before medication became available, the survival rate from AIDS was zero. It was a death sentence. This show is likely to be a heart-wrenching but necessary watch. Russell T Davies is on the cusp of making TV history once again.

It’s A Sin will be on Channel 4 in 2021.