It's a Sin
Five friends in 1980s London. You already know what happens.
Russell T Davies’ best work. Do not start it on a weeknight.
- 2021–now
- 48 min episodes
- 8.6 on IMDb
- #drama
Our take
Five episodes, one per year and then some, following a group of friends who move to London in 1981 and share a flat they call the Pink Palace. The first hour is euphoric — the parties, the freedom, the sheer relief of arriving. Then the news reports start.
Davies wrote it about people he knew, and it shows in the details: the shame that made families lie on death certificates, the friends who did the nursing, the mother in the last episode. Olly Alexander and Lydia West are extraordinary, and Keeley Hawes gets a final scene that is almost unwatchable. It sent UK HIV testing to a record high the week it aired.
Where to watch It's a Sin
Stream
HBO Max Amazon Channel
YouTube TV
HBO Max
Streaming availability data provided by JustWatch. Availability changes often and is checked daily — confirm on the provider before paying for anything.
Scores
Ours
- Jibbi Score — 5 out of 5 rainbows. Russell T Davies’ best work. Do not start it on a weeknight.
Everyone else’s
- IMDb — 8.6 out of 10 from 39,180 votes, via OMDb.
- TMDB — 7.9 out of 10 from 232 votes, refreshed daily.
The plot, officially
A chronicle of five friends during a decade in which everything changed, including the rise of AIDS.
Synopsis and poster via TMDB.