Russell T. Davies is continuing his exploration of timely gay issues with his new Channel 4 drama, The Boys, which will chronicle the lives of three gay men during the AIDS epidemic of the 80s.
The project has been in gestation for years with Davies claiming this is his most heavily-researched series yet, and now Channel 4 have announced they’re picking The Boys up for a five-episode run.
In their press release, Channel 4 offered us a taste of what to expect:
“Ritchie, Roscoe and Colin are young lads, strangers at first, leaving home at 18 and heading off to London in 1981 with hope and ambition and joy… and walking straight into a plague that most of the world ignores,” Channel 4 revealed. “Year by year, episode by episode, their lives change, as the mystery of a new virus starts as a rumour, then a threat, then a terror, and then something that binds them together in the fight.
“It’s the story of their friends, lovers and families too, especially Jill, the girl who loves them and helps them, and galvanises them in the battles to come. Together they will endure the horror of the epidemic, the pain of rejection and the prejudices that gay men faced throughout the decade.”
Davies offered his own comments on the project:
“I lived through those times, and it’s taken me decades to build up to this. And as time marches on, there’s a danger the story will be forgotten. So it’s an honour to write this for the ones we lost, and the ones who survived,”
Casting is underway at the moment and production is expected to start in 2019. At a guess we reckon The Boys will be on our screens by next autumn.
We’ll be sure to pass on any news about this series as and when we receive it.