11 May 2024 , 09:00
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Baby Reindeer is on track to be one of Netflix's most-watched series - but why does it resonate with so many people?
The surprise runaway hit portrays deep and dark storylines of stalking and sexual abuse, with comedian Richard Gadd - who wrote and starred in the series - laying out his real-life ordeal at the hands of his stalker. The comedy-drama follows struggling bartender Donny Dunn and his dangerous and frightening relationship with Martha.
Viewers have become fascinated with Gadd's life off-screen after watching the characters he crafted, with many controversially trying to track down the 'real Martha'.
Many watchers have also empathised with the painful experiences displayed on-screen. But Gadd says there's an even deeper reason for its immense popularity.
Gadd says 'everything just feels slightly wrong' in the world at the moment and the series captures that (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)Speaking at a Q&A in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Gadd shared his opinion of Baby Reindeer's success. When asked why the series has resonated with so many people, he replied: "I think the world has maybe a bit more pain than I think we realise. If you look at the state of the world right now, everything just feels slightly wrong. I'm not sure there's been a TV show like Baby Reindeer that's kind of captured the dark difficulties and idiosyncrasies of life."
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He also admitted that he had no idea the show would become as popular as it has. "I thought it would be kind of like a little cool artistic gem on the Netflix platform. But then overnight, it was crazy. It felt like I woke up one day and everyone was watching it," he said. Gadd added that it feels 'surreal' and 'really difficult' to relive the trauma of his past.
The writer works with We Are Survivor, a nonprofit organisation that supports male and nonbinary sexual abuse, rape and sexual exploitation survivors across Greater Manchester. Since Baby Reindeer premiered at the start of April, the charity has experienced a 200 percent increase in people joining for support, with 60 percent citing Baby Reindeer as the reason why they got in touch.
Gadd says sexual assault wasn't really being talked about, especially with male victims, when he experienced it in 2016, and he didn't report his assault at the time. But he believes speaking out about it and sharing it has saved him. "The way people received that show, and received me, and accepted what happened to me: it saved my life. It's mad that it happened that way," he told The Guardian.
Sharing a message for other male victims, Gadd said: "I'm not an advice giver or a professional, but the first advice is: break the silence. Talk to someone, and if that's too scary, just write it down, process it into something. Because I think the more you get it out, the smaller it becomes." He added that he hopes the show has a "certain degree of greater good".