We know, we know: the name Baby Reindeer doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, does it? If you’re anything like this writer, in fact, it likely puts you in mind of animated Christmas special.

Here’s the thing, though: Baby Reindeer is a drama series that, according to its creator Richard Gadd, delivers nothing but “messy, complicated, fucked-up themes” as it follows a struggling comedian relentlessly stalked by a woman named Martha. And it’s based on a true story, too.

Watch the trailer for Baby Reindeer below:

Keen to learn more? Here’s everything you need to know about the new series.

What’s Baby Reindeer about?

Struggling comedian by day, kindly bartender by night, Donny Dunn has no idea the direction his life will take when he performs a good deed for a vulnerable customer named Martha. It’s a casual encounter, and one which, in normal circumstances, would be forgotten quickly.

Hundreds of hours of voice messages and north of 40,000 emails later, however, it soon becomes apparent that Martha has developed an unhealthy obsession with Donny. And, over time, it threatens to ruin both of their lives… not to mention force Donny to confront a deeply buried trauma.

Who stars in Baby Reindeer?

Award-winning comedian Richard Gadd plays Donny, a fictionalised version of himself, while Jessica Gunning plays obsessed stalker Martha.

Baby Reindeer also stars Danny Kirrane,  Nava Mau, Tom Goodman-Hill, Hugh Coles, Jamie Michie, Joe Bone, Charlie Bentley, Nicol Shaw, Guy Robbins, Chloe Driver and Nicholas McCluskey.

What are people saying about Baby Reindeer?

Speaking about his new project, Gadd explains that he drew from his own personal experience of being stalked – which is why he’s worked so hard to avoid the cliche-dense stalker narratives that have been done before.

“Stalking on television tends to be very sexed-up. It has a mystique. It’s somebody in a dark alley way. It’s somebody who’s really sexy, who’s very normal, but then they go strange bit by bit,” he tells Tudum. “But stalking is a mental illness. I really wanted to show the layers of stalking with a human quality I hadn’t seen on television before. It’s a stalker story turned on its head. It takes a trope and turns it on its head.”

He adds: “It wasn’t an easy thing to pull off. You are revisiting a period in your life, which was the worst period of your life. So it’s running back towards an awful fire you’ve been in… I really threw myself in it, in a way. I wanted a certain reality and truth in the performance.”

When and where can we watch Baby Reindeer?

Baby Reindeer will be available to stream from 11 April. 

Will you be tuning in?

Images: Netflix