Why ‘Baby Reindeer’ and Other ‘True Story’ Netflix Shows Keep Landing in Legal Trouble

Richard Gadd has a new project coming!

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.

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.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent “Squid Game” creator, writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk and the show’s protagonists Lee Jung-jae and Wi Ha-Jun will be attending Italy’s Lucca Comics and Games festival on Oct. 31 to tease the hit Netflix series’ second season. The hotly anticipated second instalment of the Korean-language survival drama series is set to launch on Netflix by the end of the year.

So many stars were in the audience for the Loewe Menswear Spring/Summer 2025 show during Paris Fashion Week on Saturday (June 22).

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?

Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd was spotted in the crowds at Cologne Stadium during Scotland's draw against Switzerland at Euro 2024.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Netflix’s Baby Reindeer and Ripley and FX’s Shōgun lead the 2024 Television Critics Association awards nominations with five each.

Netflix have vowed to “vigorously defend” a multi-million dollar lawsuit by Baby Reindeer’s real-life Martha.

Netflix is publicly responding to the lawsuit from the alleged inspiration behind Baby Reindeer.

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.

Netflix is facing a lawsuit from the alleged inspiration behind it’s latest hit series Baby Reindeer.

her complaint reads, adding, “Defendants told these lies, and never stopped, because it was a better story than the truth, and better stories made money.”Series creator and star Richard Gadd isn’t named in the suit. Harvey is alleging defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and violations of her right of publicity.Based on events from creator-star Richard Gadd’s life, “Baby Reindeer” (now streaming, with nearly 60 million viewers tuning in for its first month) is a thriller following Donny (Gadd), a struggling comedian who meets Martha (Jessica Gunning) while he’s working as a bartender. When he shows her a moment of kindness, that backfires.