ScreenTest : Keeping it as real as it gets

The heartwarming Special is based on comedy writer Ryan O'Connell's memoir and Gentleman Jack taps the life of landowner Anne Lister

Gentleman Jack takes a look at the extraordinary life of Renaissance woman Anne Lister (Suranne Jones, above right, with Albane Courtois). PHOTO: HBO
Special explores how young gay man Ryan Hayes (Ryan O'Connell, above) struggles with being defined by his cerebral palsy; and Gentleman Jack takes a look at the extraordinary life of Renaissance woman Anne Lister (Suranne Jones, below right, with Alb
Special explores how young gay man Ryan Hayes (Ryan O'Connell, above) struggles with being defined by his cerebral palsy; and Gentleman Jack takes a look at the extraordinary life of Renaissance woman Anne Lister (Suranne Jones, below right, with Albane Courtois). PHOTOS: HBO, NETFLIX
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Two new shows, Special and Gentleman Jack, have protagonists unlike any others on screen: a gay man who is in the closet about having cerebral palsy and a 19th-century lesbian landowner determined to live life on her own terms.

Impressively, both are based on real people.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 02, 2019, with the headline ScreenTest : Keeping it as real as it gets. Subscribe