‘Baby Reindeer’ parents’ guide: Is the Netflix drama appropriate for kids?

The following article discusses topics surrounding sexual assault.

Baby Reindeer may seem like a familiar story, but it’s far from it. Though the Netflix series is about stalking, it makes many twists and turns.

Adapted from Richard Gadd’s one-man show, Baby Reindeer depicts how one moment of kindness can spin out of control. The struggling comedian, Donny Dunn (Gadd) works at a bar and, after meeting Martha (Jessica Gunning), offers her a cup of tea on the house. One tender gesture backfires immensely when Martha starts to stalk Donny.

If there is one thing that Gadd wants to make clear about the Netflix series, it’s that Baby Reindeer isn’t trying to impose any moral message on its audience. Ultimately, the series is an autobiographical tale about a difficult period in someone’s life, as Gadd reflected in The True Story of Baby Reindeer.

“It shows, in my opinion, the messy side of stalking. The side of stalking that isn’t necessarily black and white.”

In the featurette, Gadd notes the many different confluences of events that came together to make a perfect storm. He doesn’t paint Martha as the villain of the story. In his own words, he describes her as someone with mental illness and wanted her to be a nuanced character. He also takes responsibility for his actions at the time. Though he was victimized in many ways, he also owns that he was not a perfect person and could have handled things differently. Baby Reindeer is full of many complicated themes that parents should be wary of before showing their children.

Is Baby Reindeer appropriate for children?

Netflix may be child-friendly in many instances, but this is not one of them. Baby Reindeer, while using comedy to lighten the content, is an extremely dark prospect. Disregarding the heavy subject material of stalking, the series is full of graphic sexual content not appropriate for children. This content includes consensual sexual encounters as well as sexual assault.

One particularly heartwrenching episode involves an extensive flashback that contextualizes Donny’s psyche. Early on in his career, he was approached by a man who admired his comedy and later drugged and attacked him. The series depicts these events realistically, as well as the complex feelings surrounding them. 

Baby Reindeer also contains depictions of violence. On many occasions, scenes portray physical attacks, with one showing a woman breaking a bottle over someone’s head. The series additionally has varying degrees of profanity and drug use. All in all, it’s safe to say you should watch this one after the kids go to bed.

All 7 episodes of Baby Reindeer are streaming on Netflix.