Why ‘Baby Reindeer’ is Failing: 3 Reasons You’re Doing it Wrong

Baby Reindeer is a failure.

It’s the most-watched show on the planet. It’s a "masterpiece." It’s "brave."

You’re wrong.

You are watching a car crash and calling it a driving lesson.

I’ve spent ten years analyzing how stories move through the digital ether. I’ve seen hits come and go. But Baby Reindeer is different. It’s a warning shot that everyone is ignoring because they’re too busy playing detective on TikTok.

If you think this show is a win for "authentic storytelling," you’ve already lost.

Here is why Baby Reindeer is failing—and why you’re doing it wrong.

The Scavenger Hunt is the Product

The show didn't end when the credits rolled. That was just the prologue.

The real show happened on Twitter and Reddit. Within 48 hours, the "real" Martha was found. Within 72 hours, she was being interviewed by Piers Morgan. Within a week, lives were ruined.

This isn't "engagement." It’s a bloodsport.

Richard Gadd told a story about the dangers of obsession. The audience responded by becoming the stalker. We turned a victim’s trauma into a digital escape room.

I watched the "Internet Detectives" doxx a woman with clear mental health issues. I watched them hunt for the "real" Darrien. They didn't care about the art. They didn't care about the message. They wanted the high of the hunt.

If your "viral hit" relies on turning your audience into a mob, you haven't created a show. You’ve created a liability.

The industry is calling this "immersive." I call it a failure of duty of care. When the "fourth wall" breaks, everyone gets hit by the flying glass.

The "True Story" Lie

"This is a true story."

That sentence is the most expensive mistake in Netflix history.

I’ve worked with brands and creators for a decade. The first rule of authenticity is: Don't lie about the truth.

Baby Reindeer marketed itself as 100% factual. It wasn't. It was a dramatization. But in the age of the "Receipt Culture," you can’t have it both ways. You can’t claim the moral high ground of "truth" while changing the facts to fit a 7-episode arc.

The legal fallout will be the legacy of this show. Not the Emmys. Not the reviews. The lawsuits.

We are seeing the death of the "True Story" genre in real-time.

Lawyers are already rewriting contracts. Legal teams are gutting scripts. Every "raw" story you see for the next five years will be watered down because of this.

Gadd traded long-term creative freedom for short-term impact. He won the battle. He lost the war for every creator who wants to tell a personal story.

You think you’re seeing the future of TV. I’m seeing the end of the "Raw Perspective." From now on, everything will be sanitized. Everything will be "Inspired By."

The "Truth" just became too expensive to insure.

The Hero Complex is a Trap

Stop sympathizing with Donny.

The biggest mistake the audience is making is viewing this as a "Victim vs. Villain" narrative. It’s not.

Donny is a warning. He is a study in the "Need for Validation." He fed the beast because he was hungry for attention. He chose the stalker over the silence.

I see this every day in the creator economy.

Creators who feed their "haters" because the engagement feels like love. Creators who lean into their own trauma because the algorithm rewards the "cry-video."

Baby Reindeer is failing because people are using it to feel superior to Martha. They are missing the mirror.

If you finished the show and felt "sorry" for Donny without questioning your own need for digital validation, you didn't watch it. You consumed it.

We are all Donny. We are all refreshing the feed, waiting for a "Martha" to tell us we’re special. We are all trading our peace for a notification.

The show is a loop. And the audience is stuck in it.

The Insight: The End of the "Raw" Era

Here is what nobody is telling you:

Baby Reindeer is a one-off. It’s a freak occurrence.

The "Raw Trauma" trend has peaked. The market is saturated with "My Truth." The audience is starting to develop "Empathy Fatigue."

I predict we are heading into the Anonymized Fiction era.

Creators are realizing that giving 100% of yourself to the internet isn't brave. It’s a suicide mission.

In the next 24 months, you will see a shift. The biggest hits will be stories that feel real but are 100% fake. We want the emotion without the doxxing. We want the drama without the $100 million defamation suit.

The "Richard Gadd" model is unsustainable. You can’t build a career on burning your house down to show people the fire.

Eventually, you run out of wood.

The next generation of "Viral Creators" won't tell you their secrets. They will invent new ones. They will protect their peace. They will realize that being "unfiltered" is just another way of being unprotected.

Baby Reindeer didn't open a door. It closed one.

The world is too small for "The Truth" anymore. The internet is too fast. The lawyers are too hungry.

If you’re trying to build a brand by being "The Realest," you’re building on sand.

Be interesting. Be compelling. But for the love of God, be fictional.

Did the show change how you view "True Stories," or are you just waiting for the next Netflix scandal?