Baby Reindeer: An extraordinary piece of television
I have said it many times before but it bears repeating – there is too much television these days. It is impossible to keep up with everything and shows often premiere on streaming services and sink without a trace because there is so much competition. So it is a miracle that Baby Reindeer, a small TV show with an unusual name, has cut through and risen to the top of the Netflix charts on the strength of the word-of-mouth buzz.
I had not heard of it before its release on 11 April and when I did, I thought it sounded like a kids’ TV show. But the positive tweets kept flooding my timeline and I finally checked it out this weekend – and watched the whole thing in one go! I’m not a binge-watcher so that is a testament to how remarkable this show is.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
For the initiated, Baby Reindeer stars Richard Gadd, who wrote and created the show, as a failed comedian named Donny Dunn, who offers a sad, lonely woman named Martha (Jessica Gunning) a free drink in the pub where he works. Martha latches on to this kind gesture and begins stalking and harassing him.
I thought this was going to be a straightforward true crime series, given that this is a retelling of Gadd’s real life story. So I was not prepared for the events of episode four. I’m not going to go into super detail but there is a harrowing and unflinching portrayal of sexual assault that puts everything we had seen before into a whole new context. He is groomed by a writer who promises to give him a job, fed hard drugs and routinely abused.
I cannot get over the fact that Gadd relived that deeply horrific time in his life, laying his darkest moments bare for the world to see. That takes a level of bravery and courage so unbelievable that I cannot wrap my head around it. He is also brutally honest about the effect the trauma had on him and owns his mistakes. He openly admits that he liked the attention from Martha at first and became obsessed with listening to her voicemails. He could have easily left that part out but he owns it all.
But my heart went out to Gadd at the end of episode six when he has a breakdown mid-performance and emotionally confesses everything to the crowd. If this was an actor just saying words, it would have still been impactful, but the fact it’s Gadd crying as he tells his own traumatic story takes it to another level.
I also want to heap praise on Gunning for her nuanced portrayal of Martha. She could have easily been a one-note, stereotypical stalker but she gives her many more layers. My feelings went from being sorry for her to being terrified of her, sometimes within no time at all.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Gadd said, “I hope the show has a certain degree of greater good, and that it was worth a certain degree of self-sacrifice.” I believe Gadd has achieved his goal, addressing the taboo around sexual violence against men and showing how male victims are treated differently from female ones.
Baby Reindeer might not be an easy watch but it’s well worth your time – it is a gripping and deeply human show and Gadd and Gunning deserve all the awards.
Baby Reindeer is streaming on Netflix now