The CEO of Netflix has credited Baby Reindeer’s record-breaking success to algorithms rather than the show’s hard-hitting storyline, acting or script.
The show - which follows a struggling comic as he is relentlessly harassed and stalked by a woman for more than four years - instantly captivated viewers from Britain and beyond and is now on track to become one of Netflix’s most popular series of all time.
Viewers and critics have praised the show’s unique storyline which is based on the true life events of Richard Gadd and acted out by the 35-year-old himself.
However, when asked about its success, Netflix’s CEO Ted Sarandos said the series owed its popularity to the streaming services’ algorithm as opposed to its creative features.
“When you see something like Baby Reindeer - there was a time when something like Baby Reindeer would not even be seen in the United States,” he told the New York Times.
“And if it did, it’d be on PBS once. It’s very, very big in the UK, and in that way that Netflix does, it gets picked up in the algorithm and starts getting more and more presented.
“When something gets that big in one country, it’s likely there’s a lot of audience for it outside of that country. And it’s been an enormous hit around the world.”
He added that thanks to Netflix’ algorithm, writers are learning they don’t have to adapt to an American setting and so more “authentic” stories are being written from “almost anywhere in the world”.
The 59-year-old did emphasise the importance of authenticity in how material translates to an international audience - which is something Baby Reindeer prides itself on as being based on true events.
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“What it’s pushing is: You don’t have to adapt your storytelling to America to work,” he said. “If your movie, if your film works, if your TV series works in the home country, it’s got to be very authentic.
“And I think what international audiences pick up on is that authenticity. When you try to engineer something to travel, it really appeals to no one. I can’t think of anything that we’ve done that has been engineered to travel that actually did travel.”
While the show has been described as a true story by Gadd and Netflix, pressure has been growing on Netflix to prove claims made about the stalker, called Martha, in the show.
The ‘real Martha’ was swiftly identified by fans as Scottish lawyer Fiona Harvey, who said she wanted to ”set the record straight” about details related to the show, while being interviewed by Piers Morgan.
She has since threatened to sue the streaming service for allegedly defaming her after the show suggests ‘Martha’ is a convicted stalker.
The show’s creator Richard Gadd has defended the show as being the “emotional truth” and has denounced internet sleuths who went in search for Ms Harvey.
During her interview with Piers Morgan, which has amassed over 10 million views, Ms Harvey denied that she had any criminal convictions and said the Netflix show’s suggestion that she did was “defamatory”.
Piers Morgan also alluded to the lack of evidence when justifying his controversial interview with Ms Harvey.
