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As the series progresses, the shadow of the AIDS crisis grows-misinformation around the then-mysterious illness is rife, and the sense of stigma and shame associated with it runs deep. find acceptance and love from one another in London.
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It’s a Sin starts in 1981, as five friends from different backgrounds and different parts of the U.K. “And when I look at headlines today, and the way trans people are reported on, it shocks me.” Bringing history into the present in the 1980s, about the ‘gay plague’ and ‘gay cancer,’ and the way that gay people were reported on is so shocking to me,” says Alexander, who plays Ritchie, who moves from the Isle of Wight to London and becomes an actor in the series. “Looking through some of the headlines in the U.K. Many have also drawn parallelss between the way homophobia was rampant in the British press and society during the 1980s, and how transgender people have been treated in recent years. The first week of February marked National HIV Testing week in the U.K., and sexual health charities estimate that the final number of tests taken will easily be three times the number of tests that were done in previous years-crediting the show as well as vocal efforts from its actors to promote testing. 18, may already be having real impact off-screen in Britain. The series, which airs on HBO Max on Feb. They cannot believe that the gay or queer life in any shape or form was once treated so badly in a very recognizable world.”
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“We’re getting two reactions, which are people of my generation, remembering people they haven’t spoken about for a very long time, very often because the death was considered to be so secret and tragic,” says Davies, “and at the same time, you’ve got a younger generation who are watching this and they cannot believe what they’re seeing. 2, the day TIME speaks with Davies and the show’s lead actor Olly Alexander, they’ve just been told that the series has broken its channel’s viewing records. Those anecdotes served as a starting point for the new British television series It’s a Sin, which follows the joys and the tragedies of a group of gay men and their friends living in London during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s.