IT'S A SIN - OMARI DOUGLAS INTERVIEW

t’s A Sin is a groundbreaking series now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Russell T Davies created and wrote the British television drama. It is a five-part miniseries using 1981 to 1991 in London as its setting.

It depicts the lives of a group of gay men and their friends who lived during the HIV/AIDS crisis in the United Kingdom. It’s a Sin features a wonderful cast. That cast includes Olly Alexander as Ritchie Tozer, Omari Douglas as Roscoe Babatunde and Callum Scott Howells as Colin Morris-Jones, who all move to London. Lydia West, Nathaniel Curtis and David Carlyle play the characters of Jill Baxter, Ash Mukherjee and Gregory Finch respectively. Together they form the ensemble which the show focuses on most.

Other actors include Keeley Hawes, Shaun Dooley, Tracy Ann Oberman, Neil Patrick Harris and Stephen Fry. It premiered in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 on 22 January 2021.

It’s A Sin follows the close group  of gay men who move to London in 1981. They form a friendship group but the fast developing HIV/AIDS crisis in the United Kingdom impacts their lives. Over five episodes, it shows the group living through an entire decade until 1991. They become determined to live fiercely despite the threat HIV poses to them.

The show’s subject matter of HIV and AIDS was difficult to sell to broadcasters at first. BBC One and ITV originally declined to develop the series. And Channel 4 only took it on after their commissioning editor of drama, Lee Mason, fought for it. The network then shortened the show from eight planned episodes to five. And principal photography commenced in Manchester on 7 October 2019.

Despite being set mainly in London, It’s a Sin was filmed mainly in Manchester with other locations used in Liverpool, Bolton, Eccles, Bangor and Rhos-on-Sea.

The show received critical acclaim for its emotional scenes, writing and depiction of AIDS; the cast received rave reviews for their performances and handling of  the sensitive material. The streaming service All 4 released all episodes in the U.K.  After a few weeks, viewers saw it in its entirety more than 6.5 million times, making it the most binge-watched show to stream on the platform. The first episode also became Channel 4’s biggest drama launch.

Now streaming on Amazon Prime in the U.S. and Canada, the series is one of the streaming services most watched mainly due to word of mouth.

Our Bonnie Laufer spoke with cast member Omari Douglas who plays Roscoe. He is a young man who leaves home because his parents cannot accept the fact that he is gay. His performance is brave, bold and heartbreaking.