NETFLIX
Why is ‘Baby Reindeer’ disturbing? Why the Netflix series is not for everyone
The tale of a comedian, a stalker and abuse is a word-of-mouth success for Netflix and is top of the most-watched lists in the U.S. and UK.
‘Baby Reindeer’, the gripping Netflix show dealing with a comedian haunted by a relentless stalker is proving to be a huge breakout success. It’s climbed to the top of the most-watched lists on the streaming service in the U.S. and UK, from 2.6 million in its first week to 22 million two weeks later.
It hit the spot for author Stephen King, who turned to X to say “BABY REINDEER: Holy Shit”
However be warned that while the show is about a comedian, this is not a series for everyone. (It’s definitely not for children, with an 18+ rating.)
‘Baby Reindeer’ is based on British comedian Richard Gadd’s one-man show in London’s West End that was in turn based on his own experience with a stalker who is completely obsessed by him. ‘Baby Reindeer’ fleshes that theatrical show out over a seven-episode series, each running a sharp half hour.
What’s so disturbing about ‘Baby Reindeer’
The short answer for those who don’t want to read any spoilers more about the show, is that it deals with some very dark, disturbing material: obsessive stalking and sexual abuse, including drug-induced sexual abuse. It also deals with mental health issues and trauma. If those subject matters could be triggering, viewers would be advised not to watch.
Warning: spoilers follow
The show deals with failed comedian and barman Donny, played by Gadd himself, who offers Martha, a woman in distress, a drink on the house. She soon becomes obsessed by him, sending hundreds of emails and behaving extremely erratically. As their story progresses, and Donny struggles to deal with the situation - leading to the demise of his relationship to the women he loves - it becomes clear that he has issues that run much deeper than Martha.
This revealed by way of flashbacks to a situation with a comedy writer who grooms Donny, plies him with drugs and then repeatedly sexually abuses him. The show examines why Donny did what he did in that horrifying situation, and why he does what he does in reaction to Martha. Delicately it probes the nature of cycles of abuse and how trauma makes people act in ways that appear, to an outside observer, to make no sense.