Big Boys deserves just as much hype as Heartstopper
Heartstopper was released to a hugely positive reception back in April – making the Netflix Top 10 in 54 countries, earning an immaculate 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and making instant teen sensations out of its lead cast (one of whom has already been cast in Doctor Who).Just weeks later, the very different but extremely buzzy and expensive-looking bi drama, Conversations with Friends arrived; and in the next few weeks alone we have supernatural teen drama, First Kill, the rebooted Queer as Folk and the final run of Love, Victor all on the horizon.That’s not even mentioning the absolute riot that is the new Fire Island movie on Disney+, which comes complete with Margaret Cho (!), a re-enactment of Marisa Tomei’s iconic Oscar-winning performance in My Cousin Vinny (!!) and MUNA covering a Britney classic (!!!!!).Gosh, isn’t it nice to have plenty of mainstream, explicitly queer-led stuff to pick from?But there’s another little gay treat that deserves all the hype, acclaim and fanfare in the world, and don’t you dare let it get lost in the melee: it’s Channel 4’s new six-parter, Big Boys.Created, written and narrated by comedian Jack Rooke, it’s the semi-autobiographical story of a university fresher in the early-2010s (played by Derry Girls’ Dylan Llewellyn) moving out, coming of age and dealing with a close family bereavement.
He also, notably, has a fish named after his favourite journalist – Alison Hammond.Getting to grips with his sexuality is a key part of his story, from questioning whether he’s letting his late dad down to receiving helpful guidance on the benefits of a butt plug.
