Netflix fans are eagerly awaiting the release of a chilling new series that has been compared to Stephen King’s Misery, but is based on a true story.
The new psychological thriller, titled Baby Reindeer, follows comedian Donny Dunn (played by Richard Gadd) and his delicate relationship with a crazed fan named Martha (Jessica Gunning).
Their friendship begins to break down, but Martha soon attempts to strengthen it with devastating consequences.
But, in a fascinating twist, Gadd is also at the center of the real-life story and has taken on the role of protagonist to tell the story of his own obsessive stalker who pursued him for years and bombarded him with more than 41,000 messages and voice messages. .
The new psychological thriller, titled Baby Reindeer, follows comedian Donny Dunn (played by Richard Gadd) and his delicate relationship with a crazed fan named Martha (Jessica Gunning).
The new series (left) has already drawn acclaim for its similarities to Kathy Bates in the 1990 film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel Misery (right).
Martha in Baby Reindeer (left) will document the lengths to which a crazed fan will go to get closer to their muse, with similar echoes of Kathy Bates in Misery (right).
Baby Reindeer, which is a seven-part series, will document the lengths to which a crazed fan will go to get closer to their muse.
She has already received acclaim for her similarities to Kathy Bates in the 1990 film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel Misery.
The film adaptation of Rob Reiner’s book tells the fictional story of novelist Paul Sheldon, who was in a car accident before being rescued by fan Kathy.
But her savior soon becomes her captor when she begins to terrorize the sick guest for her own benefit.
Baby Reindeer will offer a modern vision in which Martha will heavily use technology to stalk and restrain her victim.
Richard, who wrote and starred in the series, reflected on the project with Tudum as he explained how he had initially turned the worst chapter of his life into a one-man show at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, before developing it for the screen.
‘In a strange way, I started to feel like this might be a good story during the whole ordeal. It was one of the most intense periods when I was listening to these voicemails.
‘I would go to sleep at night and these voicemails: their words bounced off my eyelids. I remember thinking, “God, if I ever had to talk about this on stage, I would shoot the words. Put the voicemails in a big cacophony and shoot them.” “That’s how the work was born.”
The film adaptation of Rob Reiner’s book tells the fictional story of novelist Paul Sheldon, who was in a car accident before being rescued by fan Kathy.
Baby Reindeer will offer a modern vision in which Martha will heavily use technology to stalk and restrain her victim.
He continued: ‘Stalking on television tends to be very sexual. It has a mystique. It’s someone in a dark alley. He’s someone who’s really sexy, who’s really normal, but then he slowly gets weird.
‘But bullying is a mental illness. She really wanted to show the layers of bullying with a human quality that she hadn’t seen on television before. It’s a bully story in reverse. It takes a trope and turns it on its head.’
The creator said he wanted to avoid creating a narrative of being a “victim,” which is why there are multiple layers to the relationship portrayed in Baby Reindeer.
‘I think art is quite interesting when you don’t know whose side you’re on. I wanted it to be layered and capture the human experience.
“The human experience is that people are good, but they have bad sides and make mistakes,” he said.
Richard, who eventually obtained a restraining order against his stalker in 2019, further explained what it was like taking on the role of playing himself, describing it as “challenging.”
He added: “It wasn’t easy to achieve. You are covering a period of your life, which was the worst period of your life.
‘So he’s running back towards a terrible fire you’ve been in…
‘There’s something a little crazy about all this, about doing it: the layers upon layers. “It’s a thick drink, and it’s all very challenging.”
Richard, who wrote and starred in the series, reflected on the project with Tudum as he explained how he had initially turned the worst chapter of his life into a one-man show at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, before developing it for the screen.
Television enthusiasts are already flooding X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their opinions on the upcoming Netflix series.
Jessica herself has also spoken of her approach to character study, which she wanted to address with a “sense of care, duty and responsibility to do justice to the story.”
Television enthusiasts are already flooding X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their opinions on the upcoming Netflix series.
One person said: ‘It looks suffocating and horrible, count me in!’
Another joked about the release date: “April 11th should be tomorrow.” I’m already in love.’
Others called it “exciting” and “amazing” and many expressed that they were very interested in tuning in.
Baby Reindeer will premiere on Netflix on April 11