Baby Reindeer has been the biggest television hit of the year, but it has not been without controversy, particularly over its depiction of sexual assault.
The show’s creator, Richard Gadd, is apparently keen not to make the same mistake, and the production team has assured potential cast members for Gadd’s new project that the staging of intimate scenes will be “handled carefully” by hiring an intimacy coordinator.
The casting notice, obtained by the Mail on Sunday, for her upcoming show reads: ‘These roles involve the portrayal of scenes of a sexual nature, handled with care and with the support of an intimacy co-ordinator.’
While Baby Reindeer was made by Netflix, the new unnamed project will be a joint production between the BBC and American giant HBO.
Scottish writer Gadd’s debut series, which was nominated for 11 Emmys last week, was a semi-autobiographical comedy-drama that told the story of comedian Donny Dunn, who is harassed and stalked by Martha, who sends him more than 41,000 emails and bombards him with texts and calls. It included traumatic scenes of sexual assault and drug use.
Richard Gadd’s production team has promised that intimate scenes in his new drama series will be “handled carefully” by an intimacy coordinator after Baby Reindeer caused controversy.
The Netflix show, which follows Richard’s character Donny as he is stalked by a woman named Martha, played by Jessica Gunning, has become a global hit since its release.
His next work, as yet untitled, will begin in the present day with an unhappy and violent reunion between two Scottish stepbrothers, when one shows up at the other’s wedding.
The series will then flash back to the 1980s and what happens there will explain their tumultuous relationship.
The TV project, which will be set and filmed in Glasgow, promises to “capture the wild energy of a changing city and world” and will ask “what does it mean to be a man?”
Gadd’s fictional stalker Martha, played by Jessica Gunning, captivated a nation with her terrifying intensity, and there has been rife speculation about what characters the writer has in store for the future.
The casting for his latest show offers a tantalising glimpse of his new creations: a pair of young Scottish stepbrothers in their late teens and early twenties.
One of the brothers, “Paul,” is “a highly intelligent and deeply insecure working-class boy.” Like Donny (Baby Reindeer), he is “secretly unsure of his sexuality,” as the character is either gay or bisexual. The call adds: “Paul arrives at university, where he tries out for, but never quite fits in with, the wealthier, more confident students.”
His brother Tommy’s temperament will be the complete opposite. He is described as “attractive, charismatic and sometimes violent.” He has his own moral code. Do good to him and he’ll do the same to you; stand up to him and he’ll beat you up. Tommy is confident and charming, but he also has a self-destructive streak.
Filming is expected to begin in early 2025, with Gadd writing and executive producing.
However, it has not been without controversy, particularly its depiction of sexual assault.
And now the production team has assured potential cast members that intimate scenes in Richard’s new drama series will be “handled with care” after tears were previously shed on the set of Baby Reindeer.
The new show comes after Fiona Harvey, 58, the woman who allegedly inspired Baby Reindeer’s Martha, filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Netflix for defamation, negligence and privacy violations.
The production team’s assurance about the new series comes after Richard revealed that tears were shed on the set of Baby Reindeer during filming of some of the show’s most heartbreaking scenes.
She spoke about filming the fourth episode, in which her character is sexually assaulted by a TV writer who takes comedian Donny under his wing.
He said Variety‘We closed the set, but I was watching and I saw the prop guys wiping tears from their eyes as they put the props back where they needed to be.’
“The show was based on such a huge trauma that everyone on set felt like it was a huge, heavy thing. And that’s why I think everyone had such respect for everything. I was lucky to have this amazing crew who felt the same way I did in a lot of ways.”
