If there’s one thing that captures our imagination and leaves us hanging on the edge of our seats, it’s a series that’s as unsettling as it is fascinating. ‘Baby Reindeer’ is the latest edition of Netflix’s mystery basket and this one’s got everyone talking. The show, to no surprise, is based on the true story of Scottish comedian and actor Richard Gadd‘s intense ordeal with a stalker back in his twenties.
Do not get lost in the jingly title of the series, the Reidneer cub here is not the one left behind from Santa’s sleaze. It’s a stalker story with romance evaporated. That probably happened because it’s Richard’s life story playing out on the screen and stalkers are only sexy in books and ‘You’. Well, Netflix had its fun with Joe Goldberg, it was about time we got serious on the matters of boundaries and established that crossing it is not cute.
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‘Baby Reindeer’ Is Based On True Events
The thing with cinematic or even literary art is that if it gives you butterflies, the chances of it being taken from real life get pretty low. On the other hand, if it gives your body chills, there’s probably a case study on it somewhere and this one my friends, is a chill-inducing story. The Baby Reindeer here is Donny Dunn, played by the one and only Richard Gadd (Yes, he acts in it as well and you will never guess his character), a struggling comedian and bartender with dreams as big as his student loan debt. But his life takes a hard left turn after a chance encounter with lonely and pitiful Martha. The gray villain of the story is portrayed by the incredibly talented Jessica Gunning.
Now, Martha starts off as just another fan girl okay. A harmless admiration at first glance? Not quite. Harmless doesn’t make it to the shows. Martha goes full throttle into obsession mode, bombarding Donny with a whopping 41,000 emails and enough voice messages to fill an Audible library (350 hours). And oh, let’s not forget the peculiar gifts one of which was a Baby Reindeer among other things like boxers.
The story is not based on a script so you never get an A-line flow or black and white characters. Martha wasn’t the only demon in Donny’s life. In the flashbacks of the memories, we see the darker tendrils of his past. A well-established comedian named Darrien, played by the suave Tom Goodman-Hill has nothing on petty trauma that Martha’s obsession gave Donny. Darrien was a master manipulator, he offered to mentor the budding comic and lured him into his home only to then drug and assault him. The kind usually reserved for women in mainstream media.
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A Thin Line Of Fact And Fiction In ‘Baby Reindeer’
Yes, ‘Baby Reindeer’ is indeed rooted in reality and in the vision of the creator and the muse Richard himself it is kept as close to reality as possible. The series doesn’t shy away from the disturbing details, it paints no blush-hued picture of being stalked. While there hasn’t been any compromise in building a see-through window to Gadd’s traumatic life he did cover some key factors with white sheets. As often happens with shows based on true events, viewers often go on a manhunt to find the character purposely veiled. I understand the intrigue but if the creator doesn’t want you to know, there’s a reason.
So Gadd made sure to keep the names and key details about the real-life versions of these complex characters in his memories. He even told GQ, “We’ve gone to such great lengths to disguise her to the point that I don’t think she would recognize herself. What’s been borrowed is an emotional truth, not a fact-by-fact profile of someone.”
Plus the hate that the show would aim at someone who is just mentally very ill if their real identities were revealed isn’t something to joke about. It goes for the gross groomer Darrion as well. Many tried to peg the big names of the British comedy industry which made Richard quite upset. He expressed his disdain over it in an Instagram story writing, “People I love, have worked with, and admire … 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.”
Gadd’s intention was to capture the raw complexity of his story, steering clear of a simplistic victim narrative. He wanted viewers to grapple with the shades of gray inherent in human nature—our capacity for good, intertwined with flaws and mistakes.
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