“Baby Reindeer” creator Richard Gadd has signed a first-look deal with Netflix, despite his series spawning a $170 million defamation lawsuit.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos made the announcement Tuesday morning at the Royal Television Society conference in London in response to a question from journalist Kirsty Wark about the lawsuit, saying the streamer stands behind Gadd.
“We facilitate storytellers to tell their stories,” Sarandos said when Wark asked him if Netflix had made a mistake by calling the series a “true story.” “This is Richard’s true story. We are ready [signing] our first-look deal with Richard Gadd to do his next work at Netflix… We are very proud of Richard and proud of the story he told and the way he told it.”
“It’s not a documentary,” the streaming boss added. “We see it being performed by actors on television – we think it’s obvious that there is dramatisation. And I would also like to point out that this is a uniquely British debate; this debate about ‘Baby Reindeer’ is not happening anywhere else in the world.”
“Baby Reindeer” took home six Emmy awards on Sunday, including outstanding limited or anthology series, writer and lead actor for Gadd and supporting actress for Jessica Gunning.
Gunning portrayed Martha, the stalker of Gadd’s struggling comedian Donny Dunn with whom he developed a complicated relationship. The story was based on Gadd’s own experiences, with the writer-actor narrating the story Variety in April that what is depicted in the series is “all 100% emotionally true.”
“It’s all taken from examples that have happened to me and from real people I’ve met,” he said. “But of course you cannot say the exact truth, for both legal and artistic reasons.”
These legal reasons came into play in June, when a Scottish woman named Fiona Harvey sued Netflix for $170 million, alleging defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and violations of her right of publicity.
Netflix has stood by Gadd since the lawsuit was filed, saying, “We intend to vigorously defend this case and defend Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.”