Every now and again, Netflix gets people talking. During the pandemic, it was Tiger King. Then came the dystopian-survival thriller, Squid Game. Whether it is funny or shocking, some shows find fame due to word of mouth. The latest example of this phenomenon is the Emmy-nominated, Baby Reindeer. When I first heard about it, viewers described the series as “disturbing” and “a dark comedy.” Of course, me being the horror fan that I am, my interest was piqued.
Baby Reindeer started in 2016 as a traveling, one-man stage show featuring Scottish comedian Richard Gadd called Monkey See Monkey Do. The show was such a success that Netflix picked it up and expanded it into a seven-part miniseries. Gadd writes and stars in the show, which is based on events in his own life. This is what makes Baby Reindeer so emotionally impactful, and if you’re an empath like I am, you will ride a rollercoaster of feelings as you watch.
The show features Donny Dunn (Richard Gadd), who is an aspiring and struggling comedian working as a bartender in London to make ends meet. Martha Scott (Jessica Gunning) stumbles into the bar one day, and unable to pay for her cup of tea, Donny tells her it is on the house. From then on, Martha stops by daily during Donny’s shift, telling him stories about her so-called “glamorous” life. His small act of kindness leads to Martha’s obsession with Donny, and she starts to send him hundreds of emails — 41,071 emails to be exact — followed by hundreds of hours of voicemails, tweets, Facebook messages and letters.
In the beginning, we see Martha as a happy-go-lucky lady, while Donny finds her captivating but increasingly annoying. He does some online research and discovers she’s been imprisoned for stalking. As the show progresses, Donny is unable to set healthy boundaries with not just Martha, but with anyone, for that matter. He begins dating a trans woman named Teri (Nava Mau), and even she cannot convince Donny of the dangers Martha now presents.
The fourth episode is where we get a glimpse into Donny’s past and learn where a lot of his mental baggage originates. This is a pivotal moment in the show that comes with a trigger warning of sexual abuse and grooming. It is a very dark episode to process, and I can only imagine how it was for Gadd to perform.
In an interview with The Wrap, Gadd says, “Yeah, it was hard. But if I need to go through a little bit of pain to bring a wider sense of understanding, I guess I’m willing to do it. I don’t want to sound self-righteous and self-congratulatory, you know? That’s just the way it is. I think whatever pain I felt has contributed to a little bit of a societal shift, which is good.”
Without giving too much away, we later meet screenwriter Darrien (Tom Goodman-Hill), who helps Donny turn his comedy show around overnight. Donny gets a taste of fame and moves to London, continuing his business relationship with Darrien, but it takes a dark turn.
Donny is unable to leave the situation, and his hunger for fame consumes his good judgement and self-respect. His ambition leads Donny to self-loathing and eventually to Martha, with whom he becomes almost as obsessed until lives become threatened. We come full circle.
The best and most impressive part of the show is the second half when Donny melts down onstage and delivers a monologue about everything, and I mean everything, that’s happened to him. It is a stellar performance by Gadd that will hit you right in the gut. Gadd shows his range as an actor throughout the show, but during this monologue his serious and emotional side is projected through the screen.
He is incredibly brave to display his personal hardships onscreen, and I, for one, could not do such a thing, but Gadd says, “Not only did I feel such an acceptance from the comedy industry and from audiences, that sense of acceptance was like 1,000 therapy sessions in one” (The Wrap).
British actress Jessica Gunning. as Martha, is another standout, as she can go from sweet and jovial to unhinged in the blink of an eye. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Gunning says she believes she got the role because of her empathetic view of Martha:
“I think you have to try and find the person in there and the logic and honesty to what she does, and I really saw it really clearly as soon as I read the script.”
She makes a good point because you do feel bad for Martha, and you can tell Donny does, as well. Gunning is an incredible actress whose career spans over 17 years, but says her part in Baby Reindeer “has been the role of a lifetime.”
Further credit goes to cinematographer Krzysztof Trojnar, who worked on Episodes 1 through 4 of the show. Amazingly enough, this was his first television series! He truly set the tone by creating a claustrophobic atmosphere, reminiscent of Donny’s inner turmoil.
Trojnar tells The Credits, “We definitely wanted to put Donny in the center of the frame as he talks about it almost in the spotlight — something he is searching for in his life — and obviously also being sort of entrapped sometimes in compositions. That was one idea. It kind of puts Martha as a visual intruder in the sense of how close people are to Donny or how close the eyeline is to the camera.”
Another interesting tidbit is that a wide-angle lens was used to get close shots of Martha to create an abrasive and intrusive effect for the viewer, one you cannot ignore while watching the show.
When I first heard about Baby Reindeer, I thought it was just a TV series about a guy who has a stalker. It is so much more than that.
It’s easy for anyone to say, “If I were in that situation, I would just leave.” Unfortunately, that is not the case for every human being. Don’t you think if it were that easy to leave an abusive situation, everyone would?
Baby Reindeer is an exploration of the cycle of abuse and trauma. It is handled with great care and brings to the forefront a hard subject matter that some people have found solace in. According to Gadd, since the premiere of the show, there has been a 40 percent rise in contributions to stalking charities and 53 percent rise to abuse charities.
Several people have come forth to say the show has helped them face their demons and talk about incidents they have endured. If you are not a victim of any kind of trauma, count yourself among the lucky. Trauma is hard to talk about, and if you don’t, it may eat you alive — like it almost did to Donny and Gadd, himself.
I have nothing bad to say about Baby Reindeer and highly recommend watching it. The identities of the real people portrayed in this show are not given, and obviously lots of people are speculating who they might be. The actual Martha has come out and accused Gadd of being the actual stalker, which is interesting. The world may never know.
Also, if you were wondering, you do find out where the name “Baby Reindeer” comes from in the final episode. . . so have your tissues ready.