Scottish comic and Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd has inked a first-look deal with Netflix, despite his series prompting a $170 million defamation lawsuit.
Netflix boss Ted Sarandos made the announcement at the Royal Television Society conference in London this morning in response to a question from journalist Kirsty Wark over the lawsuit, saying the streamer stands by Gadd.
“We are facilitating storytellers to tell their stories,” Sarandos said when Wark asked him whether Netflix had made a mistake in calling the series a “true story.” “This is Richard’s true story. We finished [signing] our first-look deal with Richard Gadd to do his next work at Netflix … We’re very proud of Richard and proud of the story he told and the way he told it.”
“It’s not a documentary,” he added.
Baby Reindeer picked up six Emmy awards on Sunday, including outstanding limited or anthology series, writing and lead actor for Gadd and supporting actress for Jessica Gunning.
The legal issues came into play in June, when Scottish woman Fiona Harvey sued Netflix for $170m, alleging defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and violations of her right of publicity when she claimed to be the real-life stalker portrayed in the series.
Netflix has stood by Gadd, saying: “We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.”
Gadd, who has insisted the series is “all emotionally 100% true,” said “I’m beyond thrilled to be continuing my creative journey with Netflix. They took a chance on me when I wasn’t proven in the television space; for that I will always be grateful. I look forward to the years ahead with Netflix, ideas with Ted, Bela [Bajaria], Anne [Mensah], Peter [Friedlander], and all the amazing staff who work at the company.”
Based on Gadd’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe one-man play, Baby Reindeer follows struggling comedian Donny Dunn’s (Gadd) warped relationship with his stalker, Martha (Jessica Gunning), and the impact it has on him as he is ultimately forced to face a deeply buried trauma. The darkly funny drama also stars Emmy nominee Nava Mau as Teri, a therapist and trans woman who meets Donny through a dating app, and Tom Goodman-Hill as Darrien, television writer and potential mentor to Donny.
