Richard Gadd Locks First Look Deal With Netflix Despite His Show Baby Reindeer Prompting $170 Million Lawsuit

Baby Reindeer has been an extremely popular and successful show for Netflix. However, the Richard Gadd created series had its own share of controversies and prompted a $170 million defamation lawsuit. In a new turn of events, Netflix boss Ted Sarandos made the announcement at the Royal Television Society conference in London in response to a question from journalist Kirsty Wark over the lawsuit, saying the streaming platform stands by Gadd.

We are proud of Richard: Ted Sarandos While answering a question by Wark about whether Netflix had made a mistake in calling Baby Reindeer true story. “We are facilitating storytellers to tell their stories. This is Richard’s true story. We finished [signing] our first-look deal with Richard Gadd to do his next work at Netflix … We’re very proud of Richard and proud of the story he told and the way he told it.” Baby Reindeer is not a documentaryFurther, Ted added, “It’s not a documentary. We’re watching it performed by actors on television — we think it’s abundantly clear there’s dramatisation involved. And I would also point out this is a uniquely British debate, this debate is not happening anywhere else in the world about Baby Reindeer.” ALSO READ: Ahead Of Emmys 2024, Netflix CEO Backs Nominee Baby Reindeer, Says ‘That Is Richard’s True Story’This statement comes after Baby Reindeer won six Emmy awards on September 15, including outstanding limited or anthology series, writing and lead actor for Gadd and supporting actress for Jessica Gunning.For the unversed, In June 2024, a Scottish woman named Fiona Harvey sued Netflix for $170 million in connection with the show, alleging defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and violations of her right of publicity. Netflix has stood by Gadd and said “We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.”