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Matt Roush says...

Alan Cumming takes a break from hosting The Traitors, starring opposite another of the U.K.’s best actors, David Morrissey (The Walking Dead), in a provocatively sobering five-part psychodrama series by Russell T. Davies (Queer as Folk) about neighbors whose cordiality soon curdles when homophobia rears its ugly head. Cumming is Leo, proprietor of a gay bar in suburban Manchester, where he lives alongside Clive (Morrissey), a tightly wound electrician with two grown sons, one a teenager who’s privately exploring his own sexuality. When Leo gets locked out of his house in his underwear and turns to Clive for help, the comically embarrassing incident has a dark and unsettling undercurrent of condescension and scorn. Boundaries are broken, and Leo has to face the reality that for all the advances in gay rights, being openly queer in 2026 is now a “political act,” and bigots no longer have to pretend to be tolerant. From the disturbing opening scene, it’s clear this situation isn’t going to end well.

What's Worth Watching (Oct 2)