Emma Roberts is opening up about Calabasas, a series she’s producing for Netflix alongside Kim Kardashian.
18.06.2024 - 18:21 / deadline.com
An industry debate about the blurred lines between reality and fiction was always going to take in the ongoing situation with Baby Reindeer – and so it was at the Monte Carlo TV Festival.
A group of factual producers spoke in a Festival conference session ostensibly about docs and blurred lines between fact and fiction. The conversation soon turned to Richard Gadd’s Netflix series, which is the subject of a $170 million lawsuit in the U.S.
“It’s amazing for a guy who’s been trying to get his own breakthrough for years, he got it, it just happened in the wrong way,” said veteran British producer Steve Anderson. “It feels like one of those moments where the envelope has just been pushed too much.”
The legal team of Fiona Harvey, the woman identified as being the inspiration for the Martha character in Baby Reindeer, is claiming that the “biggest lie in television history” has been told. Netflix said it will vigorously defend the suit.
Anderson has produced several episodes of BBC current affairs staple Panorama and his Shearwater Media label makes Discovery series Faking It. He is chair of the Monte Carlo TV Festival’s news and documentary jury this year.
Asked by Deadline about the impact of Baby Reindeer at an industry level he said: “I can predict with absolute certainty that everybody now will be required to go on compliance courses to make sure that this never happens again. I think it’s a seminal moment.
“Compliance departments all over the industry will be being strengthened as a result, that’s probably the most immediate impact.”
That chimes with Deadline’s recent scoop about the BBC being inundated with compliance questions from producers concerned about straying into dangerous territory.
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Emma Roberts is opening up about Calabasas, a series she’s producing for Netflix alongside Kim Kardashian.
Variety TV critics Aramide Tinubu and Alison Herman have each selected 10 standout shows from the first half of 2024, running the gamut from a Guy Ritchie romp to a real-life drama set at a Renaissance fair. For every global smash like “Baby Reindeer,” there’s an underrated gem like “Diarra From Detroit”; for every bleak post-apocalypse like “Fallout,” there’s a romance like “One Day” that lifts you up even as it breaks your heart. These 20 series — which each of us listed in alphabetical order — represent the full diversity and breadth of the year’s standout releases to date.
George Galloway, the controversial Scottish politician and TV personality, has said he was “relentlessly” and “physically” stalked by the real-life Martha from Baby Reindeer.
Melissa McCarthy was reportedly a favourite to play the role of Martha in Baby Reindeer.The hit Netflix series, created by and starring Richard Gadd, tells the story of a struggling comedian/barman who is relentlessly stalked by an older woman named Martha. At the start of the first episode, a disclaimer shows that it is a “true story”, and one which is based on Gadd’s own experiences.According to Variety, a source claimed that Gadd’s CAA agents “pushed aggressively” for the US actor Melissa McCarthy to play the role of Martha.The Variety report reads: “A knowledgeable source says McCarthy met Gadd about the role but ultimately wasn’t interested.“Those familiar with the production say Gadd micromanaged casting and fired his CAA agents after they and Netflix pushed aggressively for Melissa McCarthy to be cast as Martha.”Gadd has spoken several times in interviews about how he “always wanted” British actor Jessica Gunning to play the role.
EXCLUSIVE: ZDF Studios’ Off the Fence, the company behind Netflix’s BAFTA and Oscar-winning doc My Octopus Teacher, has taken worldwide rights outside of Canada to Resident Orca, a documentary from first-time feature directors Sarah Sharkey Pearce and Simon Schneider.
Paul Heaton has announced his new Ian Broudie-produced album ‘The Mighty Several’ and has shared a new single ‘Fish ‘N’ Chip Supper’.‘The Mighty Several’ is set for release on October 11 – which is available for pre-order here – and follows his 2022 LP ‘N.K-pop‘ with Jacqui Abbott. The Housemartins and Beautiful South legend’s upcoming album was recorded at Blueprint Studios in Salford and was produced by Broudie of the Lightning Seeds.The album is comprised of 12 tracks, with some featuring special guests such as Rianne Downey (Heaton’s regular live vocalist), Yvonne Shelton and Danny Muldoon. The featured artists are all pictured alongside Heaton on the album’s artwork.
Baby Reindeer creator and star Richard Gadd was spotted at a recent Euros match.Gadd, who has gained significant media attention over the last few months for being the writer, creator and actor in Baby Reindeer, a story based on his own life, attended the Scotland v Switzerland match on Wednesday (June 19).Some fans speculated over whether it was the Scottish actor in attendance, when BBC footage panned to show him supporting from the stands.One user wrote on X: “I don’t know what you think… but I’m positive I’ve just spotted Baby Reindeer’s Richard Gadd cheering on Scotland in Cologne?” while another wrote: “am i tripping or is the actor from Baby Reindeer at the scotland vs switzerland game”.Gadd later took to Instagram to confirm that he was in fact at the match, which saw Scotland draw one-all with Switzerland.I don’t know what you think… but I’m positive I’ve just spotted Baby Reindeer’s Richard Gadd cheering on Scotland in Cologne?
UK drama The Gathering was the big winner at the Golden Nymph Awards, which were announced at the closing ceremony of the Monte Carlo TV Festival.
Baby Reindeer is one of Netflix’s biggest and most unexpected hits. The British series, created by and starring Richard Gadd, was released on April 11th and has since maintained itself on the streamer’s top 10 list of TV shows.
Baby Reindeer has been one of the most talked-about shows of 2024, but what is series creator and star Richard Gadd’s next project? Read on for all the details.Gadd wrote and starred in the Netflix hit, a series that claimed to tell the “true story” of Gadd’s own experiences being stalked by an older woman. He plays Donny Dunn, a struggling comedian who is befriended by a woman named Martha who transpires to be a malicious stalker.The show spent almost a month at the top of Netflix’s viewership rankings and was recently named as the 10th most-watched series of all time on Netflix, racking up over 84 million views.Following the series’ release, and its declaration of being a “true story”, many viewers tried to find out the real identities of the characters in the show.
EXCLUSIVE: Republic Pictures has snagged two more movies, taking global rights to Saoirse Ronan-starrer Bad Apples and international rights to horror rom-com Heart Eyes.
Netflix has revealed its top 10 most-watched TV series of all time, based on views from their first 91 days on the streamer.Sitting at the top of the list is the Addams Family spin-off series Wednesday. The Jenna Ortega-led show has been viewed 252,100,000 times by subscribers, with a total viewing time of 1,718,800,000 hours.In second place is Stranger Things season 4, which has been viewed 140,700,000 times and watched for a total of 1,838,000,000 hours.
This Emmys season was supposed to be a dud. The decidedly weak Drama and Comedy Series categories were supposed to be enough of an embarrassment to make the Television Academy reconsider allowing eight nominees for each.
Baby Reindeer has proved to be one of the standout cultural moments of the first half of 2024, and the show has picked up a number of high-profile fans.The Netflix drama was written, created by and starred comedian Richard Gadd, and it is a semi-autobiographical story depicting his real experience of being stalked by an older woman named Martha.The show spent almost a month at the top of Netflix’s viewership rankings and sparked many conversations around reporting and dealing with stalkers.Gadd himself has spoken about his disbelief at the scale of the reaction to the show, telling Netflix that there is one particular celebrity fan that has left him especially surprised.“I grew up loving wrestling and WWE and never really shook it, much though I tried,” he said.He went on to reveal that he received a video from the wrestler-turned-Hollywood star John Cena, who proclaimed his love of the show.“You sometimes just can’t believe it’s happening. Like, you’re gonna wake up one day and, ‘Oh, it was a dream’,” Gadd added.Others who have shared their admiration for the show include horror legend Stephen King, who said: “I have an essay about BABY REINDEER in the London Times.
$170 million lawsuit over the hit series.The streamer has flown show creator and star Richard Gadd and co-star Jessica Gunning over to the US from the UK for a softball-question promotional tour.The co-stars made their US morning TV debut on the “Today” show last week, when they were interviewed by Hoda Kotb and made no mention of the real-life drama that has been bubbling up behind the scenes.That same day, the two took part in a SAG-AFTRA panel. But hours later.
The Television Critics Association announced the nominees for the 2024 TCA Awards and, surprisingly, they come with some controversy. “Baby Reindeer,” “Ripley” and “Shogun” led all programs with five nominations each.
Netflix have vowed to “vigorously defend” a multi-million dollar lawsuit by Baby Reindeer’s real-life Martha.
Trouble, trouble, trouble for Netflix!
EXCLUSIVE: After Netflix got slapped with a $170M lawsuit, Deadline hears that the scandal’s blast radius has been felt on other drama projects inspired by real events.
Baby Reindeer, has filed a $170million (£133m) lawsuit against Netflix.In a lawsuit filed yesterday (Thursday July 6) in the US district court for the central district of California, Harvey accused the streaming giant of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, gross negligence and violations of her right of publicity (via The Guardian).It follows the huge success of the drama series Baby Reindeer, which was created and written by comedian Richard Gadd. He also portrays a fictional version of himself, Donny, in the show.The seven-part programme depicts Gadd’s real experience of being relentlessly stalked by an older woman called Martha.