{ "id": "epksfxr2n0", "slug": "baby-reindeer", "title": "Baby Reindeer", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "label": "Scripted television and comedy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series", "label": "Drama and prestige series (individual series)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series.crime-and-thriller-series", "label": "Crime and thriller series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series.crime-and-thriller-series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series.crime-and-thriller-series.psychological-and-domestic-thrillers", "label": "Psychological and domestic thrillers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series.crime-and-thriller-series.psychological-and-domestic-thrillers" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020: Drama and prestige series (individual series)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "label": "Scripted television and comedy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series", "label": "Drama and prestige series (individual series)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Baby Reindeer is a 2024 Netflix seven-episode limited series created by and starring Richard Gadd, adapted from his Edinburgh Fringe play about being stalked. It won six Emmys, two Golden Globes, and a Peabody, and prompted a $170 million defamation suit by Fiona Harvey.", "snippet": "Baby Reindeer is a 2024 Netflix seven-episode limited series created by and starring Richard Gadd, adapted from his Edinburgh Fringe play about being stalked. It won six Emmys, two Golden Globes, and a Peabody, and prompted a $170 million defamation suit by Fiona Harvey.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series.crime-and-thriller-series.psychological-and-domestic-thrillers", "markdown": "# Baby Reindeer\n\n**Baby Reindeer** is a seven-episode British limited series for Netflix, created, written by, and starring the Scottish comedian [Richard Gadd](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-gadd), which dramatizes his experience of being stalked and sexually assaulted. Adapted from his award-winning 2019 [Edinburgh Festival Fringe](https://www.edgepedia.org/edinburgh-festival-fringe) one-man play of the same name, it premiered on April 11, 2024, and became one of Netflix's most-watched shows, winning six [Emmy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/emmy-awards) from 11 nominations, two Golden Globes, and a Peabody Award.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/baby-reindeer-cast-release-date-plot?inapp=trueOs) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/baby-reindeer) • [3](https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/baby-reindeer/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Format | Seven-episode limited series, about 35 minutes per episode, rated TV-MA; premiered on Netflix April 11, 2024[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/baby-reindeer-cast-release-date-plot?inapp=trueOs) • [4](https://www.classificationoffice.govt.nz/find-a-rating/quick-takes/baby-reindeer/) |\n| Origin | Adaptation of Gadd's 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe one-man play, based on his real experiences of stalking and sexual assault[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/baby-reindeer-cast-release-date-plot?inapp=trueOs) |\n| Principal cast | Richard Gadd as Donny Dunn, Jessica Gunning as Martha, Nava Mau as Teri, Tom Goodman-Hill as Darrien[3](https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/baby-reindeer/) |\n| Emmy results | 11 nominations, 6 wins at the 76th Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/baby-reindeer) |\n| Viewership | 88.4 million views in its first 91 days and a top-ten placing in 92 countries, according to Netflix[5](https://www.milligazete.com.tr/baby-reindeer-dizisi-konusu-ne-gercek-hikaye-mi-oyunculari-bolum-sayisi-ve-2-sezon-durumu) |\n| Critical scores | 99% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 69 reviews; 81% on the audience Popcornmeter[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/baby_reindeer) |\n| Legal dispute | Fiona Harvey, who says the character Martha is based on her, sued Netflix for defamation in June 2024, seeking at least $170 million[7](https://apnews.com/article/7de65030fbc704b78dc530404d616bc6) |\n| Continuation | No second season; Gadd has ruled one out, calling the story a standalone narrative[8](https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/entertainment/richard-gadd-s-decision-on-future-seasons/story) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise and origin\n\nThe series follows Donny Dunn (Gadd), a struggling stand-up comedian who works as a bartender in a London pub. When he shows a small kindness to a customer, Martha ([Jessica Gunning](https://www.edgepedia.org/jessica-gunning)), her initially friendly demeanor unravels into relentless stalking: hundreds of hours of voice messages and, in the story's framing, north of 40,000 emails. As the obsession escalates, Donny is forced to confront a deeply buried trauma, depicted through his grooming and repeated sexual assault by Darrien ([Tom Goodman-Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-goodman-hill)), an older television writer who poses as a mentor.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/baby-reindeer-cast-release-date-plot?inapp=trueOs) • [9](https://time.com/6967483/baby-reindeer-netflix-true-story/)\n\nGadd has said he deliberately avoided conventional television stalker narratives, which he described as \"sexed-up,\" and wanted to show stalking as a mental illness with a human quality he had not seen on television. He also said he did not want to write \"a victim narrative,\" keeping the characters morally layered.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/baby-reindeer-cast-release-date-plot?inapp=trueOs) The play from which the series derives was itself rooted in his own experiences; during the stalking he imagined putting the voicemails \"in a big cacophony\" on stage, and that idea became the 2019 Fringe show.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/baby-reindeer-cast-release-date-plot?inapp=trueOs) A previous Gadd show, *Monkey See, Monkey Do*, which dealt with his experience as a survivor of sexual violence, won the Edinburgh festival's top prize three years before the stalking material reached television.[9](https://time.com/6967483/baby-reindeer-netflix-true-story/)\n\n## Production and style\n\nThe series is a Netflix production made by Clerkenwell Films, written entirely by Gadd and directed by [Weronika Tofilska](https://www.edgepedia.org/weronika-tofilska) and Josephine Bornebusch.[3](https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/baby-reindeer/) Critics noted its horror-adjacent visual style: uncomfortable closeups, tilted angles, and a disorienting creepiness that builds pressure across the run. The Guardian's review called episode four, which examines Donny's state of mind, one of the most disturbing episodes of television it had seen in a long time.[10](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/apr/11/netflix-baby-reindeer-review-features-the-most-chilling-tv-episode-of-the-entire-year)\n\nThe show carries a TV-MA rating and was self-rated by Netflix in New Zealand, with content warnings for rape and sexual assault, drug use, and offensive language; several episodes depict the lead character being sexually assaulted and raped, in one case after being given drugs.[4](https://www.classificationoffice.govt.nz/find-a-rating/quick-takes/baby-reindeer/)\n\n## Reception and awards\n\nBaby Reindeer spent three weeks as the top English-language TV show on Netflix after its April 2024 release, and Netflix later reported 88.4 million views in its first 91 days with top-ten placement in 92 countries.[11](https://www.wbur.org/npr/nx-s1-5104147/baby-reindeer-netflix-martha-lawsuit) • [5](https://www.milligazete.com.tr/baby-reindeer-dizisi-konusu-ne-gercek-hikaye-mi-oyunculari-bolum-sayisi-ve-2-sezon-durumu) Critics grouped it with 2024's most acclaimed series; the Guardian ranked it second on its list of the year's 50 best TV shows.[12](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/dec/20/the-50-best-tv-shows-of-2024-no-2-baby-reindeer)\n\n**Emmys and Globes.** At the 76th Emmy Awards the series won six of its eleven nominations: Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, Outstanding Lead Actor (Gadd), Outstanding Supporting Actress (Gunning), Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (Gadd), Outstanding Picture Editing for Episode 4 (Peter H. Oliver and Benjamin Gerstein), and Outstanding Casting (Nina Gold and Martin Ware).[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/baby-reindeer) • [13](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/emmys-2024-winners?inapp=true%2F) It was nominated for three Golden Globes and won two: Best Limited Series and Best Supporting Female Actor for Gunning.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/baby-reindeer-cast-release-date-plot?inapp=trueOs)\n\n**Other honors.** The series won a 2024 Peabody Award, cited for \"a raw and visceral chronicle of abuse and harassment\" and its exploration of storytelling as a way forward.[3](https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/baby-reindeer/) Gunning also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series at the February 23, 2025 ceremony, and the series won the Critics Choice Award for Best Limited Series, the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, and the Gotham TV Award for Breakthrough Limited Series.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/baby-reindeer-cast-release-date-plot?inapp=trueOs) • [14](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13649112/awards/) At the BAFTA Television Awards in 2025, Gunning won Supporting Actress and Gadd won Writer, Drama.[14](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13649112/awards/)\n\n## The \"true story\" dispute and lawsuit\n\nThe first episode opens with the on-screen statement \"This is a true story,\" a framing that became the center of a legal and ethical controversy. Soon after the series debuted, Fiona Harvey, a Scottish attorney living in England, publicly identified herself as the alleged inspiration for Martha and gave an interview to [Piers Morgan](https://www.edgepedia.org/piers-morgan) about a month after the premiere.[7](https://apnews.com/article/7de65030fbc704b78dc530404d616bc6) In June 2024 she sued Netflix in federal court in Los Angeles for defamation, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and violation of her right of publicity, seeking at least $170 million in damages plus the show's profits. Her complaint argued that viewers and British media identified her before she came forward because the on-screen Martha creates social media posts identical to searchable posts by Harvey, and that the \"true story\" claim made the fictionalized conduct, including a prison sentence for stalking, read as fact.[7](https://apnews.com/article/7de65030fbc704b78dc530404d616bc6)\n\nNetflix responded that the series is a dramatized work of art and that Gadd's personal narrative is protected expressive speech. In *Harvey v. Netflix*, a judge allowed Harvey's defamation claims to proceed, finding that the show's marketing could itself suggest \"reckless disregard for truth,\" the constitutional threshold for actual malice (legal standard: knowingly publishing falsehoods or reckless disregard for truth); the ruling determined only that the question of falsity deserved to be tried, not that the series was false.[15](https://jipel.law.nyu.edu/based-on-a-true-story-baby-reindeer-and-the-boundaries-of-truth/) The Guardian reported that a judge found the show had been wrongly billed by Netflix as a \"true story,\" essentially on the ground that the opening statement could lead viewers to believe events that were not accurate, such as Martha's five-year prison sentence for stalking.[12](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/dec/20/the-50-best-tv-shows-of-2024-no-2-baby-reindeer)\n\nThe case also became a widely cited example of how streaming-era audiences investigate \"true story\" claims: online users compared screenshots and traced social-media accounts to identify real-world analogs of characters, and legal commentary has argued that identification can arise through context such as geography, profession, or circumstance even without explicit naming.[15](https://jipel.law.nyu.edu/based-on-a-true-story-baby-reindeer-and-the-boundaries-of-truth/)\n\n## Aftermath\n\nGadd has repeatedly ruled out a second season. Speaking to Variety India, he said both Baby Reindeer and his follow-up BBC/HBO drama *[Half Man](https://www.edgepedia.org/half-man-tv-series)* were designed as standalone narratives, adding, \"I'm sure Baby Reindeer season two would generate all the hype in the world,\" but that he believes the stories work best closed.[8](https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/entertainment/richard-gadd-s-decision-on-future-seasons/story) Netflix has never listed the show among its renewed series, and Gadd's subsequent projects, including *Half Man*, are unrelated continuations.[5](https://www.milligazete.com.tr/baby-reindeer-dizisi-konusu-ne-gercek-hikaye-mi-oyunculari-bolum-sayisi-ve-2-sezon-durumu)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Baby Reindeer Cast, Release Date, Photos, Trailer, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/baby-reindeer-cast-release-date-plot?inapp=trueOs)\n2. [Baby Reindeer, Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/baby-reindeer)\n3. [Baby Reindeer, The Peabody Awards](https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/baby-reindeer/)\n4. [Baby Reindeer, Age Rating and Content Warning, New Zealand Classification Office](https://www.classificationoffice.govt.nz/find-a-rating/quick-takes/baby-reindeer/)\n5. [Baby Reindeer dizisi konusu ne, gerçek hikâye mi? Oyuncuları, bölüm sayısı ve 2. sezon durumu, Milli Gazete](https://www.milligazete.com.tr/baby-reindeer-dizisi-konusu-ne-gercek-hikaye-mi-oyunculari-bolum-sayisi-ve-2-sezon-durumu)\n6. [Baby Reindeer, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/baby_reindeer)\n7. [Woman who says she's the real Martha from 'Baby Reindeer' sues Netflix for defamation, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/7de65030fbc704b78dc530404d616bc6)\n8. ['Baby Reindeer' creator shuts down sequel plans, Newsbytes](https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/entertainment/richard-gadd-s-decision-on-future-seasons/story)\n9. [The True Story Behind the Surprise Netflix Hit 'Baby Reindeer', TIME](https://time.com/6967483/baby-reindeer-netflix-true-story/)\n10. [Baby Reindeer review, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/apr/11/netflix-baby-reindeer-review-features-the-most-chilling-tv-episode-of-the-entire-year)\n11. ['Baby Reindeer' is facing a lawsuit — that didn't stop it from winning 6 Emmys, WBUR/NPR](https://www.wbur.org/npr/nx-s1-5104147/baby-reindeer-netflix-martha-lawsuit)\n12. [The 50 best TV shows of 2024: No 2 – Baby Reindeer, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/dec/20/the-50-best-tv-shows-of-2024-no-2-baby-reindeer)\n13. [Emmys 2024 Winners on Netflix: See the Full List, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/emmys-2024-winners?inapp=true%2F)\n14. [Baby Reindeer (TV Mini Series 2024) – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13649112/awards/)\n15. [\"Based on a True Story\": Baby Reindeer and the Boundaries of Truth, NYU Journal of Intellectual Property & Entertainment Law](https://jipel.law.nyu.edu/based-on-a-true-story-baby-reindeer-and-the-boundaries-of-truth/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Drama and prestige series (individual series) › Crime and thriller series › Psychological and domestic thrillers*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/baby-reindeer", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/baby-reindeer.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Baby Reindeer\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/baby-reindeer. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Baby Reindeer](https://www.edgepedia.org/baby-reindeer)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/baby-reindeer](https://www.edgepedia.org/baby-reindeer). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Baby Reindeer\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/baby-reindeer. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Baby Reindeer is a 2024 Netflix seven-episode limited series created by and starring Richard Gadd, adapted from his Edinburgh Fringe play about being stalked." }