Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Netflix, Entertainment, Crime
Gerrard Kaonga
Netflix’s latest hit series has become even more eerie for fans after they learnt a stalker’s real emails were used in the show.
Netflix dramas can really hit that sweet spot for quality TV and one of its newest series which dropped last week on the platform is gaining some serious attention.
But let’s back up, what is the show about?
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The mini-series - titled Baby Reindeer - focuses on how the lead character Donney Dunn (played by Richard Gadd) deals with his bizarre relationship with his stalker and how he is forced to deal with his own buried trauma as a result.
But things get even more disturbing as actor Gadd has confirmed he was actually the real-life victim of the stalking escapade.
The 34-year-old was heavily stalked by a woman, named on the show as Martha, for six years before police were finally involved.
Even more bizarre, the many emails that he received from his stalker are on show during the series.
We are not just talking about a few emails, but over four years he received a staggering 41,071 emails, 350 hours of voicemail, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages and 106 pages of letters.
One of the emails reads: "I need a ncie boy totake care of me, he who looks likea baby reindeer [sic]."
"u not ben in pub for a whil e reindeer?? whats going on [sic]," reads another.
Another harrowing email said: "baby reindeer if u didnt want me comin to ur house then why u keep wakling the canal home? [sic]."
When viewers realized it was a story close to the actor they took to social media to express their shock.
“#BabyReindeer is insane but the fact that 1) it’s a true story 2) the main actor is the actual victim of the true story in real life makes it that much CRAZIER,” one X user wrote
“Don’t think I’ve ever screamed “WHAT THE F********CK” at my tv as many times as I did watching #BabyReindeer 🤯 absolutely stranger than fiction, devastating, bats*** tale that turns out to be completely true!,” another wrote
“All the emails in Baby Reindeer, it’s like written by two different persons. Martha that showed up in bar and Martha in her email just so different….,” wrote one stunned fan.
“Watching Baby Reindeer. This man just said 80 emails per day. Oh goodness,this is really scary, I'm extremely stressed out,” another added.
Beyond this added bit of authenticity, the series has been well praised by viewers with many commending Gadd for his performance.
Jessica Gunning, who plays the stalker, has also been praised for bringing a certain level of unease to her character.
Baby Reindeer currently sits at an impressive 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer, with an 99 percent average audience score.