Family dramas have the power to evoke countless feelings in each of us. They can appeal to our joy, heartache, and even trauma, depending on the story and performances. However, the best TV dramas provoke something genuine and enduring in all of us through stories of heartbreak, grief, joy, or challenge. Britbox’s upcoming three-part miniseries Lost Boys & Fairies, premiering on March 4, perfectly understands this.
The miniseries, created by Daf James and starring Siôn Daniel Young and Fra Fee, centers on a gay couple looking to adopt a child. Through this simple yet endlessly compelling premise, the show explores themes of family, addiction, trauma, and overcoming one’s past to embrace one’s future. Although it doesn’t break new ground, Lost Boys & Fairies remains a solid piece of melodrama that might not always hit the right notes, but when it does, it’s quite a powerful and heartfelt ode to the importance of family.
What Is ‘Lost Boys & Fairies’ About?

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Lost Boys & Fairies follows Gabriel (Siôn Daniel Young) and Andy (Fra Fee), a gay couple living in Wales and looking to adopt a child. Initially, they enter the process with very specific ideas about what they want and receive great help from their caring and concerned social worker, Jackie (Elizabeth Berrington). While Andy, an accountant, is very excited over the prospect of being a father, Gabriel, a drag queen performer, is much more hesitant, as he has a past with addiction and is still haunted by his troubled childhood following the death of his mother. Things change when they meet Jake (Leo Harris), a precocious young boy with a troubled history who makes a great impact on the couple.
The cast is rounded out by William Thomas as Gabriel’s distant father Emrys, who shares a complicated relationship with his son stemming from the many unspoken and lingering issues between them, Maria Doyle Kennedy as Sandra, Andy’s overly caring and lively mother who greatly supports the couple, Arwel Gruffyd as Berwyn, Gabriel’s drag mother, and three-time Olivier winner Sharon D. Clarke as Claire, Jake’s loving and concerned foster parent.
‘Lost Boys & Fairies’ Benefits From Two Great Performances

The greatest strength in Lost Boys and Fairies is undoubtedly the powerful and tender central performances. As the show’s de-facto lead, Siôn Daniel Young has the heavy burden of bringing vulnerability, nuance, and sympathy to a tricky character. However, the actor rises to the challenge with an honest and often quite visceral performance that will resonate with countless queer audience members. Even when the narrative threatens to descend into melodrama, Young keeps things afloat with his performance. This issue is best illustrated by Gabriel’s addiction storyline; the writing can be quite heavy-handed and reliant on common beats we’ve seen countless times before, yet Young’s work keeps it not only engaging but also profoundly affecting.
For his part, the underrated Fra Fee, who is also currently co-starring in Apple TV’s thriller Prime Target, is the perfect partner and contrast for Young. The Irish actor shines as the more loving and optimistic of the two, bringing some much-needed levity to the series and acting as the perfect counterpart for Young’s more prickly and confrontational Gabriel. Together, these two gifted performers create a relationship that feels real, familiar, and easy to root for. Indeed, Lost Boys & Fairies relies entirely on these two and their ability to be good parents despite their issues, and they more than hit their marks.
Similarly, the supporting cast is stellar. Berrington is a particularly welcome presence as the caring social worker, while Thomas successfully grounds a potentially challenging role with gravitas and visible hesitance and regret. You can tell that he’s afraid of saying the wrong thing every time he talks, and he often does; yet, the show wisely never vilifies him, instead opting to present him as a flawed man willing to make an effort to connect with his estranged son. Lastly, young Harris is also quite impressive, beautifully playing Jake’s whimsy, curiosity, and trauma.
Lastly, the show’s depiction of adoption is quite good. The topic might be foreign to many, and Lost Boys & Fairies treats it with refreshing honesty. It never shies away from depicting its struggles and challenges, from the process to the situations that might arise once the approval has been given and the parents actually get to engage with their child. It’s a delicate but witty and quite balanced portrayal and one of the show’s best aspects.

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‘Lost Boys & Fairies’ Ultimately Succumbs to Old Tropes

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Sadly, it’s not all perfect. Lost Boys and Fairies commonly takes detours into melodrama, which is a perfectly valid approach but does often take from the narrative’s more earnest and potent moments. Everything in the show is heightened, which sometimes works in its favor; other times, however, it can be a bit predictable. Pretty much every episode has at least one musical number; most work fabulously to provide even more color to this already vibrant world. Episode 2’s rendition of Cass Elliot’s “It’s Getting Better” is Lost Boys and Fairies at its best, finding the right blend between showmanship and genuine heart. However, a particularly heavy-handed rendition of a Gary Jules classic later in the show isn’t as impactful or as clever as it wants to be.
Without entering into spoiler territory, some dramatic choices near the end also greatly deprive the show of the goodwill it had earned throughout its first two episodes. Queer stories on television and movies are too often pigeonholed into certain genres, and it’s always disappointing to see another promising series devolve into common and dated tropes that should best be left in the past.
Even so, Lost Boys & Fairies remains a worthwhile show that will tug on the heartstrings. At its core, however, it’s a story about the importance of family and how connecting with others might be just what’s needed to truly find oneself. It might not achieve all that it sets out to, but Lost Boys and Fairies is a solid, well-meaning, and ultimately powerful miniseries that serves as both an ode to the queer community and a love letter to the ties that bind us and make us thrive as humans.
Lost Boys & Fairies premieres March 4 on BritBox.

Lost Boys & Fairies

Lost Boys & Fairies may not hit all the right notes with its melodrama but ultimately succeeds at being a powerful ode to family.

Release Date

2024 – 2023

Network

BBC One

Directors

James Kent

Richard Nichols

Prince Charming

Pros & Cons

Siôn Daniel Young and Fra Fee give lovely, impactful performances.
A great ensemble cast adds great depth to the story.
The plot showcases a lovely and quite honest depiction of adoption and its challenges.

The series offers a somewhat melodramatic storyline that can be quite heavy-handed.
A late twist undoes much of the show’s efforts.