This Netflix series dominated 2024, scored a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score, and you’ll regret not watching it sooner

Netflix has dropped some really wild shows over the years, but Baby Reindeer is unforgettable. It is dark and unsettling. This deeply personal drama exploded in 2024, racking up critical acclaim and a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score.

Netflix has a huge collection of shows that aren't easy to forget. But this one makes you gasp and even ask if any of it actually happened in the real world. And it did.

Created by and starring Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer is based on his actual experience with a stalker. And it’s as raw as it can get. There's no glamorizing the trauma. You get a painfully intimate story that you just can’t look away from. It’s as brave as it is brutal. It's the kind of show that reminds you what the medium is capable of.

The mastermind behind Baby Reindeer on Netflix is Richard Gadd himself. He is the creator, writer, and lead actor. Thus, making the show an unusually intimate experience. The series was directed by Weronika Tofilska and Josephine Bornebusch, with Clerkenwell Films backing the production.

As a semi-autobiographical retelling of Gadd’s real-life experience with a stalker, the show’s authenticity is evident in every frame. You’re witnessing the actual emotional fallout of someone brave enough to expose their deepest trauma in front of the camera and to the world.

Netflix ruled the lists with Baby Reindeer

Donny (Richard Gadd) is a struggling comedian whose small kindness to a troubled stranger unexpectedly leads to a psychological mess. Martha (Jessica Gunning) stalks him relentlessly via endless emails, voicemails, and even waiting hours at bus stops.

But the Netflix series gradually reveals that Donny isn’t just the innocent target. His own unresolved trauma, past misuse of empathy, and tendency to downplay danger feed into the obsessive cycle between them.

By episode four, a harrowing flashback to Donny’s abuse by a trusted mentor breaks open the emotional core of the story. It transforms Baby Reindeer into a haunting exploration of how trauma morphs into a damage and survival mechanism.

Baby Reindeer doesn’t sugarcoat a thing. It’s awkward, messy, and horrifying. Richard Gadd’s performance as Donny is so viscerally vulnerable, you almost forget you’re watching fiction.

But this Netflix series stands out because it doesn’t play into the usual stalker thriller tropes. There is no jump scare. It’s about emotional damage and how trauma can ruin lives even when no one’s watching.

Martha, played hauntingly well by Jessica Gunning, is terrifying. But she is also heartbreakingly human. You don't see a villain or a monster when you look at her. And that’s the scary part.

The Netflix series walks a very fine line between empathy and horror. It never justifies the abuse but forces you to sit with the complexities of both characters. You feel sorry, disgusted, angry, and confused, all in the same scene.

And of course, it wouldn’t be a 2024 Netflix hit without fans absolutely losing it online. Baby Reindeer became the conversation starter. Everyone had a take, and most agreed that this was television doing something important. It became more than a show. It was about confronting a very uncomfortable, very real story.

Baby Reindeer may not be an easy watch, but it’s one of the most essential shows Netflix has ever put out. If you haven’t seen it yet, now’s the time. And with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 99%, you don’t want to be the last one to find out why.

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