Netflix’s output has been really prolific in recent years, which means only a handful of shows manage to truly capture the public imagination. However, Baby Reindeer is definitely one of them.
Created by and starring Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer follows a struggling stand-up comedian who finds himself in a tough spot after being relentlessly pursued by a mentally unstable stalker (brilliantly portrayed by Jessica Gunning).
During a conversation with GQ, Gadd opened up about how much he had to draw from his own harrowing experiences to translate into the vision of the hit series.
Gadd explained: “It’s pretty truthful. Any time it veered too much into embellishment I would always want to pull it back. It’s extremely emotionally truthful. Of course, this is a medium where structure is so important, you need to change things to protect people… but I like to think, artistically, that it never moved too far from the truth.”
When asked about what his stalker might think of the show, he added: “I honestly couldn’t speak as to whether she would watch it. Her reactions to things varied so much that I almost couldn’t predict how she’d react to anything. She was quite an idiosyncratic person. We’ve gone to such great lengths to disguise her to the point that I don’t think she would recognise herself. What’s been borrowed is an emotional truth, not a fact-by-fact profile of someone.”
However, the series has finally been dethroned by a new release – David E. Kelley’s A Man in Full, starring Jeff Daniels as a real estate magnate who has to navigate the complications of his life and business.
While it hasn’t received nearly the same amount of critical acclaim, it has surpassed Baby Reindeer on the standings.
