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Baby Reindeer

Baby Reindeer is a British black comedy[1][2] thriller drama television miniseries created by and starring Richard Gadd, adapted from Gadd's autobiographical one-man show. Directed by Weronika Tofilska and Josephine Bornebusch, it also stars Jessica Gunning, Nava Mau and Tom Goodman-Hill. The entire seven-episode series was released on April 11, 2024 on Netflix, where it had a strong viewership, and received critical acclaim. It was nominated for eleven Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series.

Plot

Aspiring comedian Donny Dunn works as a bartender in a London pub. He offers a cup of tea to a customer, Martha, to cheer her up. Martha develops an attachment to Donny and begins to stalk him both in person and online. Years earlier, Donny is being mentored by TV writer Darrien O'Connor, who supplies him with drugs. The latter repeatedly sexually assaults and rapes Donny during drug-induced blackouts, until they break off contact. In the present, Donny reports Martha to the police for stalking, violence and threatening his parents. She is arrested and spends nine months in prison. Darrien and Donny meet again. Darrien suggests a renewal of their collaboration. Donny reluctantly agrees.

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Guest

Episodes

All seven episodes were simultaneously released on Netflix on 11 April 2024.[3]

Production

Development and casting

Nava Mau

The series was announced in December 2020, with Richard Gadd set to write the series and star. Clerkenwell Films was set to produce.[5] Weronika Tofilska was added as the director in August 2022,[6] with Josephine Bornebusch announced as an additional director in March 2023.[7] Richard Gadd was cast alongside the series announcement.[5] Jessica Gunning was cast on 26 August 2022.[6] Nava Mau was announced as a cast member in March 2023.[7]

Filming

The Stag's Head, Hoxton served as the exterior of the Heart pub

Filming began in mid-August 2022 in the Grassmarket in Edinburgh,[8][6] and continued in London in September.[9]

Among the filming locations in London were the Stag's Head pub in Hoxton, which was used for exterior scenes at the Heart pub, the Regent's Canal in Haggerston, and the Royal Vauxhall Tavern. Donny's stand-up comedy shows were filmed at Bethnal Green Working Men's Club, the Rivoli Ballroom in Brockley and The Comedy Store in Leicester Square. Darrien's apartment was filmed inside Marsham Court in Victoria. In Edinburgh, the Hoppy pub in Meadowbank, Edinburgh served as the exterior of the Festival Fringe venue for Donny's comedy show (interior scenes were filmed in the Army & Navy pub in Stoke Newington, London). Other exterior locations are the Royal Mile and the Grassmarket, where Donny is shown walking along the street amid festival activities.[10]

Filming wrapped by early March 2023.[7]

Reception

Critical response

The series received critical acclaim.[b] On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 98% of 58 critics gave the series a positive review, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "A bracing work of autofiction by creator and star Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer can be a punishing watch but richly rewards viewers with its emotional complexity and excellent performances."[17] On Metacritic, the series holds a weighted average score of 88 out of 100 based on 17 critics.[16]

Audience viewership

Baby Reindeer debuted at number five on Netflix's Top 10 TV English titles for the tracking week of 8–14 April 2024, with 10.4 million hours viewed.[18] On the following week, it climbed to number one and garnered 52.8 million viewing hours.[19] The series remained at the same position for its third and fourth weeks, earning 87.4 and 73.6 million viewing hours.[20][21]

Awards and nominations

Real-life inspiration

Speculation about the real-life inspirations for the show's fictional characters began to emerge online, as fans attempted to deduce their identities on social media. Gadd asked fans to stop any kind of speculation in an April 2024 statement.[28] After being falsely accused online of being the real-life counterpart to the character Darrien, theatre director Sean Foley reported the false allegations to the police.[29] This led to a police investigation.[29] Gadd confirmed that Foley was not behind the character Darrien.[28]

On 9 May 2024, 59-year-old Scottish law graduate Fiona Muir-Harvey claimed to be the real-life inspiration for Martha in an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored.[30] Previous tweets from an account linked to Harvey led to speculation she was the real-life inspiration of the character Martha Scott.[31] These included a reference to hanging curtains, a sexually suggestive phrase which was later used in the script of Baby Reindeer.[32][33] During her Uncensored interview, Harvey admitted she had met Gadd several times at The Hawley Arms, Camden, but denied sending him 41,000 emails or going to his home, and stated she was planning to commence legal action against both Gadd and Netflix.[34] She admitted to sending up to 10 emails and a letter as well as several tweets.[35][36][37] She later claimed she was paid £250 to appear, and that the interview left her feeling "a bit used".[38] The interview drew some criticism, questioning the ethics behind the decision.[39] Laura Wray, a lawyer and widow of the Scottish politician Jimmy Wray, stated that she had briefly employed Harvey at her law firm in 1997, and claimed Harvey had made abusive social media posts after losing her job.[40] On 6 June, Harvey sued Netflix for $170 million, claiming that the show has "viciously destroyed" her.[41][42] It was alleged that Harvey had sent abusive emails to the politician Sir Keir Starmer.[43][44]

Notes

  1. ^ Goodman-Hill is credited alongside the main cast members, despite appearing in just two episodes.
  2. ^ Multiple references:[11][12][13][14][15][16]

References

  1. ^ Donaldson, Kayleigh (24 April 2024). "Baby Reindeer: Netflix's True Crime Disease Poisons the Show". TheWrap. Archived from the original on 25 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  2. ^ Billington, Alex (22 March 2024). "Netflix Trailer for 'Baby Reindeer' Awkward Stalker Dark Comedy Series". FirstShowing.net. Archived from the original on 29 March 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  3. ^ Hudspeth, Christopher. "What Is Baby Reindeer? The True Story and New Series Explained". Netflix Tudum. Archived from the original on 11 April 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  4. ^ Venn, Lydia (18 April 2024). "Who was Llewellyn Harrison, whom Baby Reindeer is dedicated to?". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on 22 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  5. ^ a b Ravindran, Manori (13 December 2020). "Netflix Unveils New U.K. Projects With Sam Mendes, Rowan Atkinson, Andy Serkis". Variety. Archived from the original on 14 November 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Whittock, Jesse (26 August 2022). "'Pride' & 'Back' Actress Jessica Gunning Cast Opposite Richard Gadd In Netflix's 'Baby Reindeer'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Whittock, Jesse (3 March 2023). "'Baby Reindeer': Nava Mau Cast In Netflix Drama From Richard Gadd". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  8. ^ Carrell, Severin (23 August 2022). "Edinburgh faces rat surge due to refuse workers' strike, warn heritage leaders". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  9. ^ "Now Filming in London: September 2022". Film London. 7 September 2022. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  10. ^ Semlyen, Phil de (25 April 2024). "Where was 'Baby Reindeer' filmed? All the filming locations from the Netflix drama". Time Out. Archived from the original on 7 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  11. ^ Stedman, Alex (6 June 2024). "Baby Reindeer's 'Real Martha' Hits Netflix With $170 Million Defamation Lawsuit". IGN. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  12. ^ Kroll, Justin (23 April 2024). "'Baby Reindeer' Creator And Star Richard Gadd Signs With UTA". Deadline. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Baby Reindeer Star Nava Mau Offers A Different Take On The Smash Netflix Series". HuffPost UK. 11 May 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  14. ^ Li, Shirley (15 May 2024). "The 'Baby Reindeer' Mess Was Inevitable". The Atlantic. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  15. ^ Shaw, Vicky (6 May 2024). "Baby Reindeer success comes amid jump in subscription spending – Barclays". The Independent. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  16. ^ a b "Baby Reindeer: Season 1". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Baby Reindeer: Limited Series". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 23 April 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  18. ^ "Netflix Global Top 10". Netflix. 14 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Netflix Global Top 10". Netflix. 21 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Netflix Global Top 10". Netflix. 28 April 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  21. ^ "Netflix Global Top 10". Netflix. 5 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  22. ^ "The 2024 Astra TV Awards Nominations Have Arrived". Hollywood Creative Alliance. 9 July 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  23. ^ Verhoeven, Beatrice (14 May 2024). "'Baby Reindeer,' 'The Curse,' 'Shogun' Among Inaugural Gotham TV Awards Nominees". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  24. ^ Lewis, Hilary (4 June 2024). "2024 Gotham TV Awards: 'Baby Reindeer,' 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith,' 'Colin From Accounts' Top Winners". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  25. ^ "Baby Reindeer". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 17 July 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  26. ^ White, Peter (17 July 2024). "Netflix Leads Total Emmy Nominations But FX Comes in Close Second with Record Haul Ahead of HBO". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  27. ^ Longeretta, Emily (10 June 2024). "'Baby Reindeer', 'Ripley' and 'Shogun' Lead 2024 TCA Awards Nominations: Full List". Variety. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  28. ^ a b Guy, Zoe (23 April 2024). "Baby Reindeer Creator Asks Fans to Stop Looking for Real-Life Characters". Vulture. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  29. ^ a b McLoughlin, Lisa (24 April 2024). "Baby Reindeer prompts police investigation after false accusations". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 23 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  30. ^ Lammers, Tim. "'Baby Reindeer': Real 'Martha' Reveals Identity In Photo With Piers Morgan". Forbes. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  31. ^ "Baby Reindeer: Fiona Harvey says she will sue Netflix and writer Richard Gadd". BBC News. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  32. ^ Burgos, Jenzia (13 May 2024). "Fiona Harvey's Tweets Were Found by Baby Reindeer Fans—Here's What She Said to Richard Gadd". Yahoo Life. Archived from the original on 26 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  33. ^ Harvey, Fiona (23 September 2014). "@FionaHarvey2014". X (formerly Twitter). Archived from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  34. ^ "Richard Gadd is PSYCHOTIC" Baby Reindeer's 'Real' Martha Fiona Harvey. Retrieved 9 May 2024 – via YouTube.
  35. ^ Lammers, Tim. "'Baby Reindeer': Real 'Martha' Reveals Identity In Photo With Piers Morgan". Forbes. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  36. ^ Dingwall, John (15 May 2024). "Real-life Martha Fiona Harvey to sue Netflix with lawyer who defended Ryan Giggs". Aberdeen Live. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  37. ^ "Richard Gadd is PSYCHOTIC" Baby Reindeer's 'Real' Martha Fiona Harvey. Piers Morgan Uncensored. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024 – via YouTube.
  38. ^ Jacobs, Eammon (9 May 2024). "The woman outed as the alleged 'Baby Reindeer' stalker says she felt 'used' in Piers Morgan interview, where she denied harassing Richard Gadd and called him 'psychotic'". Business Insider. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  39. ^ Butler, Alexander (10 May 2024). "Viewers horrified by Piers Morgan's 'excruciating' 'unethical' interview with real-life Baby Reindeer Martha". The Independent. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  40. ^ Bryant, Tom (13 May 2024). "'I was stalked by real-life Baby Reindeer Martha - now I'm scared again'". Aberdeen Live. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  41. ^ Yang, Maya (6 June 2024). "Baby Reindeer: woman who claims to be real-life Martha sues Netflix for $170m". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  42. ^ Vernon, Will; Matza, Max (6 June 2024). "Woman sues Netflix for $170m over Baby Reindeer character". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  43. ^ "Revealed: List of celebrities allegedly 'bombarded' by Baby Reindeer's 'real Martha'". NZ Herald. 23 May 2024. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  44. ^ Ford, Lily (20 May 2024). "Alleged 'Baby Reindeer' Stalker Sent U.K. Labour Leader Hundreds of Abusive Emails (Report)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.

External links