Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd has a new project lined up following the Netflix show’s success.
HBO and the BBC will coproduce a six-episode series titled Lions, created, written and executive produced by Gadd, 35. “When Niall’s estranged ‘brother’ Ruben shows up at his wedding, it leads to an explosion of violence that catapults us back through their lives,” the show’s logline reads.
Taking place over the span of 40 years, the show will follow “the highs and lows of the brothers’ relationship, from them meeting as teenagers to their falling out as adults — with all the good, bad, terrible, funny, angry and challenging moments along the way,” the description continues. “It will capture the wild energy of a changing city – a changing world, even — and try to get to the bottom of the difficult question … What does it mean to be a man?”
Gadd gushed about getting to create his very own HBO show in a Thursday, June 27, press release statement, sharing, “Ordering a[n] HBO box set of The Sopranos, The Wire, or Oz and watching it from start to finish were some of the happiest moments of my childhood. Since then, it has always been a dream of mine to work with HBO and be part of their iconic roster of shows.”
He continued: “I am so grateful to Francesca Orsi, Kara Buckley and Clint LaVigne for taking this chance on the show and on Ruben and Niall too who — despite growing up in a dead-end Scottish town — would be absolutely pinching themselves at this! I cannot wait to get started.”
In another statement, Kara Buckley, senior vice president of HBO Drama Programming, said the network is “proud to welcome Richard to the HBO family,” while director of BBC Drama Lindsay Salt described Lions as “bold, brilliant, one-of-a-kind storytelling and we can’t wait for viewers to see it.”
Lions marks Gadd’s first project since releasing the popular Netflix miniseries Baby Reindeer in April. Inspired by his real-life experiences, the story follows a man named Donny (Gadd) whose complicated dynamic with his female stalker, Martha (Jessica Gunning), takes a toll on his mental health and his relationships with family and friends.
“You can’t deny just how popular the show is and how much it’s touching people around the globe and the incredible, sort of, charity response that it’s had,” Gadd said of the show’s impact on the June 6 episode of Today With Hoda & Jenna. “I mean, stalking referral rates in the U.K. are up 47 percent, abuse referral rates are up 53 percent. The show is having a phenomenal impact and doing a hell of a lot of good in the world.”
Despite the show’s viral success, Baby Reindeer has faced controversy among the people who allegedly inspired the characters. Fiona Harvey, a woman who claims she’s the real-life Martha, has spoken out against the series and recently filed a lawsuit against Netflix, demanding $170 million in damages for her portrayal in the series.
Netflix responded to the lawsuit, telling Sky News in a June 7 statement, “We intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd’s right to tell his story.”
Gadd, for his part, previously asked fans not to speculate about the true identities of the characters. “I’ve put out a statement publicly saying I want the show to be received as a piece of art, and I want the show to people to enjoy as a piece of art,” he told The Hollywood Reporter last month. “I’m called Donny Dunn. It exists in a sort of fictional realm, even though it’s based on truth, it exists in a fictional realm, let’s enjoy the world that I’ve created.”
