Baby Reindeer is a true-crime series, released on Netflix in April 2024, story based on true events. I watched the first episode of Baby Reindeer until the 12th minute. Paused. I cleared my schedule. I knew I wanted to see this new series right then and there. The article does NOT ruin your enjoyment of watching it. Just recounting why Baby Reindeer, I can confidently say, qualifies as my favorite series of 2024. Let’s go.
Who wrote Baby Reindeer?
Richard Gadd, scottish writer, actor and comedian. Richard Gadd plays the main character.
Why did I like it so much?
It’s written from a very authentic place. You can feel it right from the start. There’s a kind of vibe that runs through everything when it’s written authentically. Of course, I also have a soft spot for stories about crazy people. Madness has always fascinated me. What makes a person act that way? Okay, it’s a disease, but what’s the mechanism and how does it happen in detail? I probably got that fascination from acting school.
So, authentic, crazy people. The series is written by Richard Gadd. It says online that he went to Oxford School of Acting. It’s not clear to me if it’s acting school or screenwriting school, but Richard Gaal understands human nature at the micro level.
Here you can watch The True Story Behind Baby Reindeer – video on Youtube, but I recommend watching the series first.
The third argument that makes me say Baby Reindeer is my favorite show in 2024 is that the story comes from a place of deep understanding of human nature, the writer knows what he’s doing with the audience, and what’s more, he knows how to fool us.
What’s Baby Reindeer about? The main story lines.
Like any great story, Baby Reindeer has a simple story. One person becomes obsessed with another person and becomes a stalker. But why and how it all happens makes you cancel all your plans for the next 4 hours because you need to see where the story is going.
I think it’s a deep story series where everything is well thought out and justified. Nothing is in itself, just for the sake of it. I think the writer knows something important about all of us. And yes, I think it takes a high level of craftsmanship to do this based on a real story.
Episode 6
When you see that a show has 7 episodes, you don’t think that a writer has the nerve to keep the audience away from the main story for 6 episodes. But Richard Gadd dares to do that, and that’s why I find it brave.
Episode 6 takes the story to another level. It’s already captivated me so far, it didn’t need to do more, I was already there. But this writer is saving the most important wound for the end. And the ending is glorious.
All the details are expertly constructed here. Starting with how the title is presented at the start of each episode – usually a moment I ignore 90% of the time – but here I watched each time as Baby Raindeer appeared on screen and then was deleted like a message on a phone. How simple, how well thought out.
Kudas, Richard. You know what you’re doing with your audience. Can’t wait for the next projects.
Have you seen Baby Raindeer? What did you think of it?