Netflix’s mini-drama series Baby Reindeer took home two awards from the 2025 Golden Globes. Richard Gadd plays Donny in the hit series and is forced to face his darkest secrets when he is confronted by a female stalker played by Jessica Gunning. At the 82nd Golden Globes award ceremony, Baby Reindeer won the best television limited series or anthology series, and Jessica Gunning was awarded the best supporting female actor on television.
Golden Globes Winner
Richard Gadd was the lead actor and the mastermind behind Baby Reindeer. In his acceptance speech, he acknowledged the show succeeded because “we need stories that speak to the complicated and difficult nature of our times.” Unfortunately, Gadd was beaten out by other nominees as the best male actor in a television limited series, but he got to take a more valuable award home. His personal story, storytelling, and incredible talent were recognized and appreciated at the Golden Globes. It will continue to be recognized since everyone who watched the award ceremony is now racing to Netflix to watch or rewatch Baby Reindeer.
Baby Reindeer, a dark drama comedy, shows how one act of kindness can be one’s downfall. Richard Gadd’s series Baby Reindeer was written based on true events. Gadd said, “In a weird way, I first started feeling like this could be a good story during the whole ordeal itself. It was one of the most intense periods when I was listening to these voicemails. I’d go to sleep at night and these voicemails — her words would bounce around my eyelids. I remember thinking, ‘God, if I was ever to speak about this onstage, I’d fire the words around. Put the voicemails in a big cacophony and fire it.’ That’s how the play was born.”
Baby Reindeer – A True Story
The story of Baby Reindeer focuses on a struggling comedian. Donny Dunn, played by Richard Gadd, follows his strange and complicated relationship with a woman named Martha, whom Jessica Gunning portrays. Their initial interaction was naive. It did not mean anything more to Donny than a casual bartender-customer conversation. Ironically, he made the mistake of showing simple kindness. Martha bled vulnerability, and watching the series a second time, it might be seen as apparent desperation. This informal interaction between the two ignites a flame in Martha, which leads to her obsession and forces Donny to face the trauma he has deeply embedded in himself.
To remind the viewers that Baby Reindeer is a true story that personally affected Gadd, he purposefully avoided the cliché stalker narratives. He explained, “Stalking on television tends to be very sexed-up. It has a mystique. It’s somebody in a dark alleyway. It’s somebody who’s really sexy, who’s very normal, but then they go strange bit by bit.” He continued, “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.”
Final Thoughts
Richard Gadd shared his appreciation for the series’ viewers as he accepted the Golden Globe award. He said, “The way you have embraced this show is unbelievable.” He continued, “That means the absolute world to us … A lot of people sometimes ask me, why Baby Reindeer? Why do a show this dark? I think in a lot of ways, people were kind of crying out for something that spoke to the painful inconsistencies of being human.” If you have not already binged the series, log in to Netflix and start; you will not regret it.
Baby Reindeer is a clear, award-winning masterpiece. In addition to its two Golden Globes, it has also won a 2024 Television Critics Association Award and six Emmy Awards out of the eleven it was nominated for. It does not stop there. Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning also received nominations for their riveting performances at the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, which will occur near the end of February.