7 Hit Shows Based On Unbelievable True Stories To Check Out Once You’ve Finished Baby Reindeer

If you’ve finished watching Baby Reindeer, you’ll know by now that the new Netflix show is based on the shocking true story of a real-life stalking ordeal from creator and star Richard Gadd’s life.

The actor and writer mined his own personal history to retell the years-long ordeal he endured with a stalker, and you’d be surprised just how much of the show is actually true to life.

Those real elements are certainly a big reason why Baby Reindeer made for such compelling viewing, and there are plenty more shows out there you might not even know were based on true events.

Here are just a handful of them…

1. The Watcher

The Watcher began streaming on Netflix in 2022
The Watcher began streaming on Netflix in 2022

The true story of The Watcher might actually be even more terrifying than what’s depicted in the TV show.

In the 2022 miniseries, which starred Bobby Cannavale, Naomi Watts and Jennifer Coolidge, a family move into a beautiful home in the New York suburbs, only for them to start receiving disturbing letters from someone who’s apparently watching their house.

The saga was first detailed in a 2018 feature in The Cut, which ended up forming the basis of the show. And in fact some of the most unsettling details of the TV adaptation all are totally true-to-life, including that the real person signed off their letters with “The Watcher”.

The Watcher is available to watch on Netflix.

2. This Is Going To Hurt

Ambika Mod and Ben Whishaw in This Is Going To Hurt
Ambika Mod and Ben Whishaw in This Is Going To Hurt

BBC/Sister/AMC/Anika Molnar

Much like Richard Gadd’s approach in Baby Reindeer (which began life as a one-man play before being turned into a TV show), Adam Kay turned to his own real life experiences to write his best-selling memoir, This is Going To Hurt: Secret Diaries Of A Junior Doctor.

As the name suggests, the book centres around Adam and his former colleagues’ experiences as junior doctors working on a busy obstetrics and gynaecology ward in an NHS hospital, and was adapted for a seven-episode TV series starring Bafta winner Ben Whishaw and One Day’s Ambika Mod in 2022.

The whole show was very much true to author Adam’s own accounts in the overworked and understaffed NHS, all while juggling his own personal life at the same time.

This Is Going To Hurt is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

3. Inventing Anna

Alexis Floyd and Julia Garner in Inventing Anna
Alexis Floyd and Julia Garner in Inventing Anna

DAVID GIESBRECHT/NETFLIX

Inventing Anna is one of those stories that’s so wild, Hollywood simply had to jump on it.

The 2022 miniseries starring Julia Garner tells the scandalous true story of con-artist Anna Sorokin, who posed as a wealthy German heiress and managed to work her way into New York’s exclusive social scene.

She not only scammed rich socialites, but even conned banks and hotels. Anna served 18 months in prison before being taken back into custody by immigration forces and, as of late 2023, she was under house arrest. Her story was told in Rachel DeLoache Williams’ autobiographical book My Friend Anna: The True Story Of The Fake Heiress Who Conned Me And Half Of New York City.

Inventing Anna is available to watch on Netflix.

4. Narcos

Pedro Pascal as Javier Pena in Narcos
Pedro Pascal as Javier Pena in Narcos

Juan Pablo Gutierrez/NETFLIX

While you’re probably already familiar with the story of notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar, he’s not the only real person in crime drama Narcos.

The two DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) officers who took down the drug kingpin – Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook) and Javier Pena (Pedro Pascal) are also depicted in the show, and were even brought in as consultants for the first two seasons.

When they were approached about bringing the story to Hollywood, their only stipulation was the show did not “in any way glorify Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel”, as they told The Hollywood Reporter. Like any stylised crime show, though, there are of course creative liberties.

Narcos is available to watch on Netflix.

5. Mindhunter

Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany in Mindhunter
Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany in Mindhunter

True crime has always attracted a somewhat morbid curiosity from viewers, precisely because the genre is rooted in truth.

Mindhunter, starring Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany, goes a step further by retracing the advancement of the criminal profiling back in the 1970s that allowed FBI agents to get into the minds of murders.

The series revolves around the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit and a new research project, which sees agents interview imprisoned serial killers to understand their psychology better.

It’s not only inspired by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker’s non-fiction book, Mindhunter: Inside The FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit, but it also references real murders and crimes that shocked the nation like cult leader Charles Manson, serial killer David Berkowitz (known as Son of Sam) and rapist and murderer Montie Rissell.

Mindhunter is available to watch on Netflix.

6. Dopesick

Michael Keaton in Dopesick
Michael Keaton in Dopesick

The opioid addiction crisis in the US has sparked numerous depictions in popular media, but Dopesick is one of the most famous.

While the characters in the show are fictionalised, the wider context is very much true. The show stars the likes of Michael Keaton, Peter Sarsgaard, Will Poulter and Rosario Dawson, and details the real Purdue Pharma’s misbranded marketing of the painkiller OxyContin, which led to the opioid crisis in America.

The series is based on Beth Macy’s book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors And The Drug Company That Addicted America, although creator Danny Strong told NPR that there are also “composite” characters inspired by accounts of the real people affected.

Dopesick is available to watch on BBC iPlayer or Disney+.

7. Orange Is The New Black

The cast of Orange Is The New Black
The cast of Orange Is The New Black

Jojo Whilden/Netflix

Yes, really.

The groundbreaking and hugely popular Netflix show about a women’s prison is based on the memoir of Piper Kerman, who was sentenced to prison for aiding her ex-girlfriend’s drug-smuggling operation.

While Orange Is The New Black eventually departs from her true version of events and breaks off into its own plotlines, the real Piper once told NPR: “When you watch the show, you will see moments of my life leap off the screen.”

Orange Is The New Black is available to watch on Netflix.

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Aldi Comes Under Fire Over Distasteful Baby Reindeer Joke On Social Media

The supermarket Aldi has come under fire after posting a joke on social media based around Baby Reindeer.

Earlier in the week, Aldi posted a photo from the set of Baby Reindeer on X (formerly Twitter).

In the picture, the character of Donny is labelled “us” while Martha is referred to as “Tesco and Sainsbury’s”, while the post was captioned: “Obsessed.”

Given the serious themes of stalking, mental health and sexual assault explored in the hit Netflix series – and the fact the show was inspired by real events from creator and star Richard Gadd’s own life – the post has faced heavy criticism since it was shared, with many questioning whether it’s an appropriate show to joke about…

HuffPost UK has contacted representatives for Aldi for comment.

Baby Reindeer began streaming on Netflix last month, and quickly became a sleeper hit for the streaming giant on both sides of the Atlantic.

For a long time, the show held an enviable critical score of 100% on the reviews website Rotten Tomatoes, and has not budged from Netflix’s list of most-watched TV shows in over a week.

As well as creator Richard Gadd, the show includes Jessica Gunning, Nava Mau and Tom Goodman-Hill among its cast.

However, since its surge in popularity, Richard and several other cast members have had to speak out against viewers trying to track down the real-life people who inspired the show.

“I think if that is happening, I think it’s a real, real shame, because it shows that they haven’t watched the show properly. That’s not the point of it in any way,” Jessica said last week.

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Ryan Gosling Gets Candid About How Being A Dad Has Affected Which Roles He Says Yes To

Ryan Gosling has claimed that he always has his family in mind when selecting roles these days.

The three-time Oscar nominee is a dad to two daughters, nine-year-old Esmeralda Amada and eight-year-old Amanda Lee, who he shares with his long-term partner Eva Mendes.

While Ryan has plenty of hard-hitting roles in his back catalogue, including the neo-Nazi drama The Believer and the violent action drama Drive, he’s said that more recently, he’s leaning towards lighter projects, so he can be more present with his family after a day’s shooting is over.

“I don’t really take roles that are going to put me in some kind of dark place,” he told WSJ magazine.

“This moment is what I feel like trying to read the room at home and feel like what is going to be best for all of us. The decisions I make, I make them with Eva and we make them with our family in mind first.”

Ryan claimed this shift began with the musical La La Land, with subsequent projects including the Neil Armstrong biopic First Man, sci-fi sequel Blade Runner 2049 and, of course, Greta Gerwig’s hit Barbie movie.

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in La La Land
Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in La La Land

Dale Robinette/Black Label Media/Kobal/Shutterstock

It was just sort of like, ‘oh, [La La Land] will be fun for them, too, because even though they’re not coming to set, we’re practicing piano every day or we’re dancing or we’re singing’,” he explained.

“Their interest in Barbie and their disinterest in Ken was an inspiration […] they were already making little movies about their Barbies on the iPad when it happened, so the fact that I was going off to work to make one too, we just felt like we were aligned.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Ryan spoke about performing a stunt in his new comedy The Fall Guy, when he was suddenly hit with a fear of heights.

“I think it’s happened when I had kids – really, you start to be way more conscious of everything you do and everything you’ve ever done and everything you will do if you get a chance to do it,” he added.

Before Barbie’s release, Ryan made no secret of the fact that his daughters’ own indifference towards Ken led to him saying yes to the Barbie film.

Ryan as Ken in Barbie
Ryan as Ken in Barbie

Warner Bros

He told The Tonight Show: “I walk out in the backyard [after getting the offer] and, do you know where I found Ken. Face down in the mud next to a squished lemon.

“I texted [the photo] to Greta and said, ‘I shall be your Ken, for this story must be told’.”

Read Ryan Gosling’s full interview in WSJ magazine here.

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Daniel Radcliffe ‘Saddened’ By JK Rowling’s Stance On Transgender Issues

Daniel Radcliffe has admitted that Harry Potter author JK Rowling’s continued stance on transgender issues “makes me really sad”.

In the years since, Rowling has repeatedly faced criticism for her views on issues relating to trans people, recently going as far as deliberately misgendering prominent transgender women.

When one of her followers (apparently using the account name @FarRightHooligan) claimed that Daniel and his co-star Emma Watson owed the Harry Potter creator a “very public apology” for having spoken out against her views on trans people, Rowling responded: “Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single-sex spaces.”

It’s worth noting that neither Daniel nor Emma had ever indicated that they were going to make an apology for their support of trans people.

JK Rowling
JK Rowling

Neil Mockford via Getty Images

During a new interview with The Atlantic, Daniel admitted that seeing Rowling’s views “makes me really sad, ultimately”.

“I do look at the person that I met, the times that we met, and the books that she wrote and the world that she created, and all of that is to me so deeply empathic,” he explained.

“Jo, obviously Harry Potter would not have happened without her, so nothing in my life would have probably happened the way it is without that person. But that doesn’t mean that you owe the things you truly believe to someone else for your entire life.”

Asked about her “save their apologies” comment, Daniel responded simply: “I will continue to support the rights of all LGBTQ people, and have no further comment than that.”

In his initial statement, released via the LGBTQ+ suicide prevention charity The Trevor Project, Daniel wrote: “I realise that certain press outlets will probably want to paint this as in-fighting between JK Rowling and myself, but that is really not what this is about, nor is it what’s important right now.

“While Jo is unquestionably responsible for the course my life has taken, as someone who has been honored to work with and continues to contribute to The Trevor Project for the last decade, and just as a human being, I feel compelled to say something at this moment.

“Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.”

Reflecting on his statement in 2022, Daniel insisted: “It was really important as I’ve worked with the Trevor Project for more than 10 years, and so I don’t think I would’ve been able to look myself in the mirror had I not said anything.”

Help and support:

  • The Gender Trust supports anyone affected by gender identity | 01527 894 838
  • Mermaids offers information, support, friendship and shared experiences for young people with gender identity issues | 0208 1234819
  • LGBT Youth Scotland is the largest youth and community-based organisation for LGBT people in Scotland. Text 07786 202 370
  • Gires provides information for trans people, their families and professionals who care for them | 01372 801554
  • Depend provides support, advice and information for anyone who knows, or is related to, a transsexual person in the UK
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Baby Reindeer’s Nava Mau Opens Up About Deleted Scene That Sheds More Light On 1 Key Aspect Of The Show

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Baby Reindeer.

Baby Reindeer star Nava Mau has reflected on a deleted scene that would have revealed more information about one of the show’s central relationships.

Nava plays the lead character Donny’s girlfriend, Teri, in the hit Netflix miniseries, which has sparked plenty of conversation since it began streaming earlier this month.

During a recent interview with GQ magazine, the actor was asked about how things end between Donny and Teri, and whether she felt the former couple managed to get closure after their break-up.

There actually was one more piece of Teri and Donny’s relationship in the script, and I performed it,” Nava explained.

“Teri leaves Donny a voicemail five months later. So I think, for me, I got closure because Teri did too.”

She continued: “That’s what gave me so much comfort, knowing that they found peace with regards to their relationship. Teri got her happy ending, you know? Teri found a new man, she didn’t lose her friends, she didn’t lose her job, she didn’t lose her smile. She’s good.

“And I think that is remarkable, because so often we’ve seen stories of trans people that end with them broken.”

Nava Mau as Teri in Baby Reindeer
Nava Mau as Teri in Baby Reindeer

Elsewhere in the interview, Nava was asked about fans of the show who have been trying to work out the identities of real figures who inspired events in the show, which is based on Richard Gadd’s own experiences of being stalked.

“Richard has come out and asked people to stop trying to track down the real people who inspired the characters on the show, and I think for a very good reason,” she said.

“I think it is good to remind people that Richard really went through all of this – experiencing stalking and abuse from multiple people.

“It is very sensitive and there’s a reason why Richard had to seek protection from his stalker, so let’s not forget the stakes.”

Nava Mau pictured in 2022
Nava Mau pictured in 2022

David Livingston via Getty Images

Nava added: “I think for his safety, and also just out of respect for everyone, it makes sense to ask people to [stop].”

As well as Richard’s own calls for people to stop speculating about certain characters’ real-life counterparts, co-star Jessica Gunning has also spoken out.

Jessica said: “I would urge people not to be doing that. I think if that is happening, I think it’s a real, real shame, because it shows that they haven’t watched the show properly. That’s not the point of it in any way.”

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Millie Bobby Brown’s Fiancé Gave Her ‘The Ick’ By Doing 1 Thing She’s Famous For

Frankly, we’re surprised Millie Bobby Brown didn’t just dump his ass.

In a recent BBC Radio 1 interview that went viral this week, the British star shared that she just discovered a brand new “ick” — or a turnoff — thanks to her fiancé, model Jake Bongiovi.

“This morning I was on a flight with my fiancé, and he got a nosebleed,” she said. “And I got the ick.”

While explaining why she found this so unappealing, she cleverly referred to her famous Stranger Things character, Eleven, who gets nosebleeds when she uses her telekinetic and telepathic abilities.

Millie Bobby Brown appears as Eleven in "Stranger Things."
Millie Bobby Brown appears as Eleven in “Stranger Things.”

Courtesy of Netflix

“Do you know why? One, because he just got a nosebleed at the most inconvenient time,” she said. “We just landed. The seat belt sign was still on. ’He’s doing an Eleven’. I’m like, ‘Calm down.’

“Two, he’s acting as if it’s painful, and I’m like, ‘It’s not painful’.”

Brown and Jake Bongiovi are seen on March 1, 2024, in New York City.
Brown and Jake Bongiovi are seen on March 1, 2024, in New York City.

NDZ/Star Max via Getty Images

This is not the first time that Millie has discussed her personal icks — and there seem to be quite a few things that she finds unsavoury.

Earlier in the BBC Radio 1 interview, she said that men holding umbrellas give her the ick.

“There’s something about it that just feels really pathetic,” she explained. “I tried to get on board with it. I did try.”

Millie also told Glamour last year that she finds the act of taking photos of food “cringe.”

“I do not take pictures of my meals. That is where I draw the line,” she told the magazine at the time.

“My camera does not eat first. I think it’s just ridiculous. Put your phone down, eat your meal. … Never have I ever taken a picture of my food or drink. Cringe!”

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18 Behind-The-Scenes Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About The Making Of Baby Reindeer

Baby Reindeer has quickly become the biggest word-of-mouth TV hit of the year so far, and it’s not hard to see why.

The Netflix miniseries depicts the complicated true story of creator Richard Gadd’s years-long ordeal with a female stalker.

He wrote and stars in the series as Donny alongside Jessica Gunning, who has won huge acclaim for her nuanced performance as stalker Martha.

Fans of the show have been shocked to discover just how much of the series is steeped in truth, but there are plenty more behind-the-scenes facts that make Baby Reindeer an even more incredible watch…

First of all, yes, Baby Reindeer is all based on a true story

Richard Gadd as Donny in Baby Reindeer
Richard Gadd as Donny in Baby Reindeer

Ed Miller/Netflix

Undoubtedly one of the most shocking things about Baby Reindeer is that it’s all based on a real life stalking ordeal creator Richard Gadd endured for around four-and-a-half years of his life.

Everything from Donny and Martha’s first meeting in the pub, her relentless texts and emails, and the darker chapters – including his sexual assault – are based on truth.

And those texts and email? They’re all real, too

Among the most disturbing details about the show is that all the emails Donny receives in the show are verbatim copies of the real correspondence.

Richard received a total of 40,000 emails, 740 social media posts and 350 hours’ worth of voicemails from his real stalker, and each email in the show is chillingly depicted word for word.

However, it’s important to note that not everything depicted in Baby Reindeer is a ‘carbon copy’ of real life

Richard and Jessica on the set of one of Donny and Martha's earlier meetings
Richard and Jessica on the set of one of Donny and Martha’s earlier meetings

Ed Miller/Netflix

While many details of the show are true to Richard Gadd’s own experiences, the writer has insisted that the show is not an exact recreation of people and events exactly as they happened.

“A lot of it is very true, and all of it is emotionally true,” he told Gay Times. “Obviously, we can’t carbon copy people and identities, for various artistic and legal reasons. But, it is certainly based in emotional truth and lots of the action you see in it happened for real.”

In particular, Richard Gadd wanted to ensure the identity of his real stalker was protected

Jessica Gunning in Netflix's Baby Reindeer
Jessica Gunning in Netflix’s Baby Reindeer

Ed Miller/Netflix

The subject of Richard’s real life stalker has inevitably intrigued fans after watching the show – to the point where he’s even pleaded with viewers not to speculate online.

He previously insisted that measures were taken to ensure her identity remained unknown.

“I honestly couldn’t speak as to whether she would watch it,” he told GQ. “Her reactions to things varied so much that I almost couldn’t predict how she’d react to anything. She was quite an idiosyncratic person.

“We’ve gone to such great lengths to disguise her to the point that I don’t think she would recognise herself. What’s been borrowed is an emotional truth, not a fact-by-fact profile of someone.”

Baby Reindeer started life as a one-man stage play

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Before viewers were binge-watching Baby Reindeer on Netflix, Richard was performing a stage version of his story in a one-man Edinburgh Festival Fringe show in 2019.

In that version, Martha was represented by an empty bar stool.

“It was me and a stool — Martha was a stool and I carried the stool around stage and I’d move her into different positions,” Richard told Variety.

“So to bring it from a 70-minute monologue into seven episodes, multiple characters, different strands and plot lines, it was a massive undertaking and a load of pressure.”

It later transferred to the West End and even won an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement In Affiliate Theatre.

Richard’s early stand-up comedy really was as bad as his on-screen counter-part’s

Donny on stage in Baby Reindeer
Donny on stage in Baby Reindeer

Ed Miller/Netflix

Donny’s comedy routines in Baby Reindeer are… interesting, to say the least. Decked out in elaborate costumes and a suitcase of wacky props, the actor’s struggling comedy career forms the backdrop of the show.

It turns out that his old stand-up performances really did resemble what we see in the screen. In an interview with the Guardian, he recalled the strange “juxtaposition” of his “tormenting” personal life, with his more mad-cap stage performances.

He added that, while audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe “love weird stuff”, those routines wouldn’t go down so well on the regular comedy circuit.

I’d perform on the comedy circuit 11 months out of the year, to silence, because people expect more stuff that they see on TV,” he explained.

“Especially if they pay a high ticket price, they want to see dependable, seasoned, veteran comedians, and there’s this guy who’s taping ears to his nose, and they’re thinking: ‘This isn’t what I paid for.’”

Speaking in a video feature for Netflix, he elaborated that “the stand-up in the earlier years was terrible”, adding that he was trying to do “a weird brand” of “anti-comedy”.

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