Baby Reindeer Series Premiere, April 11 on Netflix

Baby Reindeer is a British drama miniseries created by and starring Richard Gadd, based on his play of the same name. The series follows the true story of Gadd’s warped and traumatic relationship with his female stalker, Martha.

The story begins when struggling comedian Donny Dunn (Gadd) encounters Martha (Jessica Gunning) at the pub where he works. He shows her an act of kindness by offering her a free cup of tea, unknowingly sparking a suffocating obsession that threatens to wreck both their lives.

As the series unfolds, Donny is forced to confront a deep, dark, buried trauma. The relationship with Martha takes a toll on his mental health, career, and relationships. Martha’s behavior escalates from eccentric emails and voicemails to more aggressive and intrusive invasions of Donny’s private life.

The series is an adaptation of Gadd’s award-winning one-man play, which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2019. Gadd has stated that the series is “a true story” and that he wanted to show the layers of stalking with a human quality by presenting the complexities and co-dependency inherent in such situations.

Baby Reindeer offers a unique perspective on the often-misunderstood topic of stalking, exploring the impact on both the victim and the perpetrator. It delves into the challenges faced by law enforcement in addressing such cases and highlights the need for a better understanding of mental illness.

The series consists of eight episodes and also stars Nava Mau as Teri, an American therapist and trans woman whom Donny meets through a dating app, and Tom Goodman-Hill as Darrien, a successful television writer and potential mentor to Donny.

Baby Reindeer is available for streaming on Netflix as of April 11, 2024.