A Netflix has insisted that Baby Reindeer is a “drama, not a documentary”, despite the hit series being labelled a “true story”.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Anne Mensah, the vice-president of Netflix’s content across the UK, said the streaming company would be “disappointed” if the true-story claim at the beginning of series detracted from the importance of the story, which touches on issues of sexual assault and stalking.
“I absolutely stand by the fact that we made the show a drama, not a documentary, and that will remain how we see the show,” she said (via The Telegraph).
It comes after the company came under scrutiny from those who claim to have been depicted in the series, which was created by and stars Scottish comedian Richard Gadd.
Also starring Jessica Gunning as his stalker, Martha Scott, Baby Reindeer depicts a dramatised account of Gadd’s own experiences.
Following the programmes overnight success, a woman named Fiona Harvey came forward claiming to be the inspiration behind Martha, alleging the story was inaccurate and filing a $170million (£133m) lawsuit against Netflix.
When asked about the controversy surrounding the series and its claim of being a “true story”, Mensah said it was “amazing” how much the show had touched people and cited an icncrease in men calling hotlines to seek help.
“It was important for those reasons,” she said, adding: “If you feel it detracted from that, I would be absolutely disappointed, but I absolutely stand by all the show.”
She also insisted that the aim of the series was not to generate controversy, explaining that Netflix “does not make shows for publicity’s sake”.
“It was about giving a creator the space to tell their story and that is true of everything we do,” she added. “That is what’s important; if you are chasing publicity it’s the antithesis of what I believe in.”
Mesnah also said that the streamer did not try to “manipulate anybody [with] an algorithm”, adding: “The truth is way simpler, which is [that] the audience is incredibly clever and incredibly diverse, and they spot good and not boring.”
In July, Gadd responded to Harvey’s lawsuit against Netflix, stating that the series is a “fictionalised retelling of my emotional journey through several extremely traumatic real experiences”.
He added: “The Series is a dramatic work. It is not a documentary or an attempt at realism. While the Series is based on my life and real-life events and is, at its core, emotionally true, it is not a beat-by-beat recounting of the events and emotions I experienced as they transpired. It is fictionalised, and is not intended to portray actual facts.
“I did not write the series as a representation of actual facts about any real person, including Fiona Harvey… Martha Scott is not Fiona Harvey.”
For more help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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