Rapid Insights: Baby Reindeer is a Surprise Netflix Smash

Last month, Netflix premiered an under-the-radar new limited series that has turned into an unexpected smash hit, ultimately landing among the service’s most-watched programs in 90 countries and finishing up its sixth week (and counting) on the Top 10 list in the US. Based on the real-life experiences of writer/star Richard Gadd, the show traces a woman’s obsessive stalking of an aspiring comedian.

Here’s what you need to know about Baby Reindeer:

Vault uses index scores to describe the impact a given story/theme/element will have on specific KPIs: 
≤79 Disappointing  80-89 Challenging  90-109 Average  110-119 Promising  120+ Outstanding

Who’s been tuning in for this blockbuster miniseries? 
We’re seeing a viewership that’s mostly female (60%) and mostly older (64% aged 30+)–the same ‘sweet spot’ audience for other dramatized limited series based on true crimes such as The Watcher, Candy, A Friend of the Family, Under the Banner of Heaven, The Staircase, Inventing Anna, and The Girl from Plainville. That said, Baby Reindeer does lean a bit younger than these other shows, which range from 69-80% aged 30+.

What caused viewers to check out the show in the first place?
Its dark subject matter. The series chronicles the unnerving Stalking (160) and horrendous Sexual Abuse (152) experienced by aspiring comedian Donny Dunn: the former by a troubled woman with mental illness, the latter by a sadistic mentor-turned-predator within the comedy world. With Donny’s sense of self and well-being Under Threat (124), the stalker’s tactics escalating, and the pressure around him mounting, audiences have been eager to see how the story will unfold.

What has kept audiences watching through the finale? 
The Emotional Roller Coaster (113). Donny’s story injects a wide range of feelings and sensations into the viewing experience, from the Anger (129) and Terror (129) of being stalked to the Grief (123) and Fear (129) of becoming an unwitting victim of abuse, the Ecstasy (129) and Joy (129) of falling in love, to the Apprehension (129) and Vigilance (129) of trying to keep that loved one safe. Throughout the show, viewers crave this experience of being put through the emotional wringer. At the same time, the fact that the show is Based on a True Story (119)–creator Gadd really was stalked by a similar woman and abused by a similar mentor–has inspired many to become amateur online detectives, leveraging the ‘evidence’ doled out in the show to try and identify these characters’ real-world counterparts.

What has caused the show’s popularity to skyrocket? 
Word of mouth. Its social tracking suggests a smash hit that truly came out of nowhere; the late-March trailer premiere made barely a ripple (hovering at an average-level (95) on our social buzz meter), and the actual episode drop on April 11 flew similarly under the radar (edging up to a still-average (99)). However, as more and more viewers found the show, its buzz started to spike, finally maxing out our meter (at an ‘outstanding’ (160)) ten days after its release; the show has seen the same level of heavy, sustained chatter ever since.

Why did viewers want to spread the word about this series? 
To share Donny’s poignant Journey of Self Discovery (112). What makes Baby Reindeer so different from other true crime-type shows is its nuanced, human take on both victim and perpetrator, largely thanks to creator Gadd’s movingly honest self-reflection. Through Donny, Gadd is able to look back on the uneasy emotional and psychological odyssey of his past, which encompassed the lowest of lows (drugs, abuse), some moments of respite (Falling in Love, 118), and finally a sense of freedom in Coming Out (111) and finding Self Acceptance (118). All the while, the dry Voice-Over Narration (129) makes audiences privy to Donny’s innermost thoughts and feelings. All are key drivers for social buzz as well as bingeability.

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