I initially didn’t plan on writing a whole article about Baby Reindeer but after I finished the series, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. After a few researched, I found out I wasn’t the only one whom the story haunted with fascination and I wondered how such a dark, hard to watch story could amaze us that much.
Spoilers will be included.
Baby Reindeer is based on Richard Gadd's true story who adapted his award-winning one-man play into a seven-episode limited Netflix series. The narrative centers around Gadd's character Donny, initial encounter with Martha, a woman he meets while working at a bar. What starts as a seemingly innocent interaction soon grow into a nightmarish scenario, as Martha played by Jessica Gunning, becomes obsessively fixated on him. Her behavior turns increasingly invasive and threatening, profoundly impacting Donny’s personal and professional life.
The series blends dark humor with raw, gripping drama, exploring themes of vulnerability, trauma, and the complexities of personal boundaries. It highlights the psychological toll of being stalked but also raises important questions about the nature of obsession, victimhood, and the complexities of seeking help.
It is a beautiful mille-feuille of brutal discoveries Richard Gadd carefully feeds us on throughout the seven episodes. He first positions our expectations precisely by setting the story of a hapless young man being relentlessly stalked by a mentally ill woman who has a history and criminal record for such behavior. He is the victim. Later on, he complicates our judgment by developing empathy for Martha and revealing darker parts of himself. Here, is where Gadd hooks us until the end - and beyond. “[…] I really wanted to show the layers of stalking with a human quality I hadn’t seen on television before” he said.
I- WHY DO WE LOVE IT SO MUCH
In Baby Reindeer, Gadd shares some of the darkest moments of his life and of himself without falling into the trap of romanticizing trauma, unlike many shows that glamorize such experiences for aesthetic appeal. The one that comes to mind is Euphoria, the HBO show written and directed by Sam Levinson. The context is of course different as Euphoria is a fiction that pictures underaged high schoolers in questionable illegal situations, but it has a similar genre as it is a layered psychological drama where characters deal with all kinds of issues and traumas resulting from their somehow toxic and self sabotaging behaviors. Euphoria received a lot of back clash from viewers claiming Levinson turned trauma into a visually alluring spectacle. Baby Reindeer still uses beautiful compositions and lighting to create a visually pleasing and creative experience, yet, unlike Euphoria, it maintains a grounded and realistic portrayal by appreciating some raw and unfiltered details which allows viewers to connect deeply with Gadd's story. It is a skillfully balance between artistic presentation and genuine storytelling, both in content and form. Richard Gadd himself articulated this duality, saying, “Some of the darkest places I’ve been in, I’ve found giggles somehow. And some of the funniest places I’ve been in, including backstage at comedy clubs with other comedians, can be the most depressing places as well. I always think life is a mixture of light and shade. So I wanted Baby Reindeer to be a blend of them both.” This philosophy is evident throughout the series, as it seamlessly integrates moments of humor and darkness, creating a rich, multifaceted narrative that resonates deeply with viewers.
This is all good and all but, let’s be honest, what mainly drew us into the narrative is knowing it is a true story. It is all the unrealistic numbers Gadd throw in our faces at the beginning : "41,071 emails, 350 hours’ worth of voicemails, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages, 106 pages of letters…”. It is the addition of bits of misspelled emails throughout the episodes.
It is our obsession with other people’s life, with drama and gossip.
III- OUR OBSESSION WITH DRAMA & FASCINATION OF OUR FEARS
As I mentioned before, I was curious about how such a dark and difficult-to-watch story could captivate us so deeply. It reminded me of how some people are fascinated by True Crime podcasts or celebrity gossip and reality TV.
Reality TV offers viewers a chance to break away from the monotony of their daily routine and shed the weight of their own troubles. While watching the challenges and conflicts of others, we can temporarily forget about our own lives. Among the different types of reality TV programs, the most popular ones are the “drama and turmoil-based”. It's just human nature to stop and stare, drawn by fascination whenever tragedy or extreme conflict unfolds.
Although "Baby Reindeer" draws from a true story, it is scripted and tailored to a cinematic format which prevents it from offering the same immersive experience as reality TV, where viewers feel as though they are peering into someone's actual life. However, it addresses pretty violent topics with real facts and dates which resembles True Crime podcasts.
Coltan Scrivner, a research scientist says there seems to be an almost primal reason people are endlessly interested by true crime content. In an article from the NewYork post, he says “True crime can have a learning component to it or at least a perceived learning component. We feel like we’re more prepared in these kinds of situations.” A recent survey of 2,000 self-identified true crime enthusiasts revealed that 76% believe that engaging with true crime content helps them prevent similar situations from occurring in their own lives.
This primal instinct of wanting to be as much prepared to face a situation links to our curiosity about the unknown and the forbidden, the need to always know the “hows and whys” of the world that surrounds us. Dark stories often involve complex characters and moral ambiguities, prompting us to reflect on our own values and the nature of good and evil. Whether they are consumed through a podcast or a series, they allow us to explore the darker sides of human nature from a safe distance. I linked an article about the Fascination of Fear below if you’d like to read more into it.
After its release in the UK on April 11th, the first episode of the series gathered over 1.7M viewers in its first week on Netflix. In the week of April 21st, the series topped Netflix’s English-language TV chart with 13.3M views. The series took over social media and very soon everyone was talking about it and everyone was loving it - maybe a little too much, a little too far.
IV - A LITTLE TO FAR, THE WITCH HUNT
In the show, the real identities of the characters are kept private but such mystery left into the hands of the armchair detective culture is a risk. The “Holmes-from-home” took it upon themselves to find the identities of real life Martha (Donny’s stalker) and Darrien (a famous director and script writer that sexually abused Donny). During some interviews promoting “Baby Reindeer”, Gadd assured he has taken the precaution to keep the show characters too far removed from their real-life counterparts in order to protect their privacy. About Martha, he said “We’ve gone to such great lengths to disguise her to the point that I don’t think she would recognize herself.”Yeah, well… it wasn’t long before T detectives found her and started speculating on the other character’s identities sending them death threats and insults.
To respond to that virtual witch hunt, Richard Gadd posted a story on his Instagram saying :
“[…] People I love, have worked with and admire (including Sean Foley) are unfairly getting caught up in speculation. Please, don’t speculate on who any of the real life people could be. That’s not the point of our show. […]”
I’m not sure everyone received the message as Fiona Harvey - said to be real life Martha - appeared on Piers Morgan’s show “Uncensored”. During this - very unethical - interview, Fiona denies all accusations of stalking and even says Richard Gadd was the one who was obsessed with her. I’m not going to get to much in the analysis of the interview but it's quite evident that Fiona Harvey and Martha Scott show a striking resemblance, both in appearance and speech.
In the interview, Fiona Harvey keeps repeating the story Richard Gadd wrote is fully made up, “a work of fiction” and that she is planning on suing both Netflix and Gadd for defamatory depiction.
At the end of the series, Martha is seen pleading guilty to stalking Gadd and receives a nine-month jail sentence. However, Harvey insisted that she has never been charged with any offense, let alone gone to prison. Moreover, in an interview for The Times, Gadd said his stalker did not go to prison, adding that he “didn’t want to throw someone who was that level of mentally unwell in prison.” and “that the situation was now resolved.”
While Baby Reindeer draws us in with its gripping narrative, the liberties taken with the truth raise significant questions. How much did Richard Gadd embellish, omit, or extrapolate to enhance the drama? At what cost does the line between truth and artistic license get drawn? We might never fully know, but it certainly leaves us pondering the impact on those involved and the ethics of such creative choices and the true extent of these alterations might only come to light in a courtroom
Baby Reindeer owes its success to a potent mix of raw, personal storytelling and the allure of true crime. Richard Gadd's ability to intertwine dark humor with deeply unsettling drama allows viewers to profoundly connect with his traumatic experiences. His portrayal of the complex dynamics between victim and stalker, without directly highlighting a villain and showing toxic behaviors in both parties, grows suspense and relatability which can only awake viewers' natural curiosity about real-life drama. Intentional or not, the virtual witch hunt served as an amazing marketing strategy for the series. It made us feel like we were part of it. In the end, "Baby Reindeer" not only captivates but also challenges us to reflect on our obsession with crime and drama and on the moral complexities of transforming personal trauma into public entertainment.