Entertainment
Netflix’s Stellar Award-Winning 7-Part Thriller Miniseries Keeps Getting Better
Sometimes, when a television series becomes super popular, it can then lose some of its luster. Shows that are beloved by fans and critics can sometimes experience a bit of a fall from grace when the criticisms start to roll in. Series such as The Bear and Game of Thrones come to mind as victims of this trend. However, there are still examples of exceptional shows that just keep getting better with time. One award-winning Netflix miniseries certainly falls into this category, and is still earning kudos today.
What Is ‘Baby Reindeer’ About?
In April 2024, Netflix released a seven-episode limited series called Baby Reindeer. At first, the show seemed like it would fly under the radar, with no prior IP to drum up interest and no big-name stars. However, word-of-mouth quickly spread that the series was, in fact, something truly special. The story is about an aspiring comedian named Donny Dunn (Richard Gadd) who meets a woman named Martha (Jessica Gunning) while he’s working as a bartender. At first, he thinks Martha just might be a tad odd, but when he offers her a friendly complimentary cup of tea, Martha latches onto Donny, inciting stalking patterns that systematically threaten to ruin Donny’s life.
Martha’s intense and abusive behaviors include emailing Donny hundreds of times a day, ruining his relationship with his girlfriend, Terri (Nava Mau), and messing with Donny’s confidence (an essential aspect of being a stand-up comedian). Martha is somehow both terrifying and pathetic, and her connection to Donny becomes a twisted, toxic cycle. Donny must try to break away from Martha, while also examining a past sexual assault that he’s never truly dealt with which might be affecting why he’s become even more intertwined with the dangerous Martha. The most intriguing part of the entire miniseries is that, although dramatized to some degree, Baby Reindeer is based on real events that Gadd himself experienced.
‘Baby Reindeer’ Offers Several Astounding Performances
The series is already remarkable in how it brings Gadd’s experiences to life. But Baby Reindeer also becomes a must-watch because of the incredible performances. Gadd has written the series so that you immediately feel entrapped in Donny’s world, and Gadd infuses the role with a brutal authenticity and an honesty that allows us to truly experience all the complex emotions Donny holds. Collider‘s Therese Lacson noted in her review that Gadd “gives his all in every scene…the unabashed way the narration interrogates his inner thoughts, mixed with the way Donny presents himself and his slow physical deterioration over the time of the stalking, make the show memorable.” Gadd is able to convey the harsh, lingering effects of trauma (both of his prior assault and with Martha’s stalking) so that we understand how life-altering and truly damaging these types of acts of intrusive violence can be.
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As impressive as Gadd’s performance is, Baby Reindeer’s success can largely be attributed to Gunning’s multi-faceted portrayal of Martha. With a lesser actor, Martha could have come across as a mere caricature — a dowdy woman who develops a crush and then takes it way too far. She could have been depicted as unhinged or overly dramatic. Instead, Gunning allows us to see all sides of Martha. She’s not only driven by her obsession, she’s also a woman who has experienced countless examples of disappointment and heartbreak that have resulted in a fractured psyche. This allows the viewer to develop a bizarre sympathy for a character who would otherwise be classified as a frightening villain. Gunning expertly demonstrates that even antagonists are devastatingly human at the end of the day.
It’s no surprise that Baby Reindeer quickly became beloved by critics for its original storytelling and extraordinary performances. It then took home 11 Emmy nominations and six wins, including ones for Outstanding Limited Series and Writing, and statues for Gadd and Gunning. But even after the Emmy ceremony took place, Baby Reindeer continues to live up to the prestige, with a 99% Rotten Tomatoes score. Although the series has been met with a bit of controversy (a woman claiming to be the real Martha has launched lawsuits against Netflix since the show’s release), Baby Reindeer is worthy of a binge-watch for anyone looking for a haunting thriller that examines the dark and complicated sides of humanity.
Baby Reindeer is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
- Release Date
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2024 – 2024-00-00
- Directors
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Weronika Tofilska, Josephine Bornebusch
- Writers
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Richard Gadd
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Jessica Gunning
Martha Scott
