Baby Reindeer has taken Netflix by storm. Despite its heavy subject matter, the autobiographical miniseries about a man and his stalker has shot to the top of the streaming platform’s most-watched shows, launching widespread discourse about trauma bonding, abuse, and the idea of a “perfect victim.”
It’s not an easy watch or a straightforward story , but more so a nuanced examination of the complicated, often paradoxical dynamics between a victim and perpetrator.
Series creator Richard Gadd first conceived Baby Reindeer as a one-man show, but its success soon attracted the attention of Netflix executives interested in bringing it to the television format. The seven-episode adaptation has been lauded by critics and embraced by audiences, piquing curiosity about not just the show but the real-life story that inspired it.
Where is Baby Reindeer filmed?
Taking Baby Reindeer from stage to screen meant expanding the story’s world well beyond the minimalist one-man-show production of its original format. The cast increased and so did the sets.
Edinburgh and London served as the two main backdrops for the Netflix show. Donny’s story begins in the Scottish capital as he prepares to debut his stand-up comedy show at The Hoppy pub in Meadowbank. Besides the pub’s exterior, Edinburg’s Royal Mile and Grassmarket areas are also featured in Baby Reindeer.
Everything else was filmed in and around London, particularly in Hackney. The Army & Navy pub in Stoke Newington was the interior setting of Donny’s performances early in the show. The Heart, the pub where he works and where he meets Martha is fictional, but they did use The Stag’s Head in Hoxton for exterior shots. Regent’s Canal (specifically the stretch near Cambridge Heath) was the setting for the sinister “Mr. Blobby” scene.
Other London filming locations include Shoreditch Town Hall, Purley Oaks, Peckham Liberal Club, and Greenwich Magistrates’ Court, according to the Location Collective.
The setting for Donny’s date with Teri was the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, as the locations for his stand-up gigs altered throughout. Two of them were the Rivoli Ballroom in Brockley and The Comedy Story in Leicester Square — the latter a famous comedy club that most comics like Donny aspire to perform in one day.