Richard Gadd ‘s smash Netflix hit Baby Reindeer has landed 11 Emmy nominations.
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Among the nearly dozen nods is a best lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie for Gadd, as well as best supporting actress nominations in the equivalent category for Jessica Gunning and Nava Mau. Tom Goodman-Hill earns a best supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie.
The series has also nabbed nominations for best limited or anthology series, directing, writing, casting, contemporary costumes, music supervision and picture editing.
Award recognition won’t surprise viewers who closely followed the show and the subsequent fallout. The global phenomenon has become one of the streamer’s most popular shows of all time, accruing 56.6 million views within 26 days of its April 11 release. It is the 10th most-watched English-language program on Netflix. “It’s been an enormous hit around the world,” said Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, stressing the dizzy heights of international popularity now accurately reflected in the limited series’ Emmys domination.
Audiences were gripped by the story of Donny, an amateur comedian played by Gadd , who, over the course of several years, is harassed, stalked and sent over 41,000 emails, 744 tweets, 100 pages of letters and 350 hours of voicemails by a woman he serves at a London pub. In the program, Martha (played by Jessica Gunning ) shows up at his gigs, sexually assaults him and threatens his family. He is sexually abused by a top TV writer (portrayed by Goodman-Hill) and grapples with prolonged drug use.
Martha, who had already served a four-and-a-half-year jail term for a previous stalking conviction in Baby Reindeer , is eventually jailed for nine months. Gadd plays himself in the show, based on his hit play of the same name that debuted on London’s West End. “This is a true story,” says a title card in the very first episode.
But as the show’s buzz lingered for months, fallout ensued when creator, writer and series star Gadd who was accused of not disguising the real-life identities of the characters in his show. Viewers were quick to find the “real” Martha on social media. Soon, a Scottish woman, who also claimed to be a lawyer (just as Martha did), was thrust into the spotlight. Fiona Harvey had been found to have sent Gadd tweets, dating back years, about how she wanted him to “hang her curtains,” the very same term used in Baby Reindeer .
Harvey, who was also reported to have harassed the now-British Prime Minister Keir Starmer by sending him 276 emails over the course of eight months in 2020, is now taking legal action against Netflix. She filed a whopping $170 million lawsuit against the streamer for defamation, negligence and privacy violations.
Emmys 2024: List of Nominees
It isn’t the first and may not be the last for Netflix following a torrent of defamation lawsuits . Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us was caught up in a 2020 legal battle after Linda Fairstein alleges she was not the harsh, crooked, and villainous woman depicted in the show. The streamer is finding itself in the hot seat more often thanks to more robust legal challenges to the dramatization of real-life events and stories.
“I have no doubt that the character of ‘Martha’ in Baby Reindeer was intended to be a portrayal of me,” Harvey said in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter via her lawyer. “The problem for Richard Gadd and now for Netflix is that Baby Reindeer is not a true story at all. I am not a ‘convicted stalker.’ I have never been charged with any crime. … Nobody ever approached me for any comment on the accuracy of Baby Reindeer or the very serious and damaging allegation that I am a convicted criminal, with a serious criminal record, who has spent time in prison. Nobody ever asked for my permission to present me in this way or to use my image at all.”
In a statement to THR , a Netflix spokesperson said: “We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.”
In his first interview since the lawsuit was filed, Richard Roth, Harvey’s New York-based attorney, told THR that he looks forward to “cross-examining” Gadd and Netflix on the claims made in the show. After litigating several hundred cases across his career, representing NFL Hall of Famer Warren Sapp and Peyton Manning, Roth founded The Roth Law Firm, specializing in securities, entertainment and business litigation and arbitration.
“I do believe that Netflix should be ashamed of itself,” Roth said. “There’s only one truth, but when Netflix says this is a true story, that’s rubbish. This isn’t a true story. And I think if Netflix is going to say this is a true story, then they have an obligation to make it a true story.”
“It’s horrific that this woman, who is very vulnerable, has now been thrust into the limelight and is getting death threats and can’t even leave her apartment because Richard Gadd decided to, essentially, for lack of a better word, exploit her,” Roth continued. “I don’t know how much money Netflix made on this — I know they’ve had over 60 million viewers. I know they’re touting it as the most successful Netflix show [ever]. So the profits [could be] $100 million, $150 million, $300 million. Fiona, if we prevail, is entitled to that.”
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