After just two weeks on Netflix, Richard Gadd's Baby Reindeer has quickly become one of the most popular series currently on the streaming platform. The show, which details the writer's real-life experience with a stalker, has made Netflix's Top 10 shows list in both the UK and the US and reportedly boasted 10.4 million viewing hours in its first week of release.
The show has been widely praised by both critics and viewers for its delicate, candid and nuanced depiction of abuse, harassment, sexual assault and mental health. Gadd stars in the show as Donny Dunn and the series tells the story of his experience with a stalker named Martha who, over a four year period, sent him 41,071 emails, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages, 350 hours’ worth of voicemails, and 106 pages of letters. In real life, Gadd's stalker regularly followed him to his home, turned up at his place of work and his comedy gigs, and went on to harass his friends and family, including his parents and the woman he was dating.
In several scenes throughout Baby Reindeer, viewers watch as Donny's inbox is inundated with emails from Martha. While many quickly noticed that she signs off every message with a 'sent from iPhone' tag despite sending them from her laptop, eagle-eyed viewers also noticed something interesting about the username that she uses. The messages come from an account with a combination of seemingly random letters and numbers, but the email address - ma4815162342@yahoo.com - actually corresponds with the 'cursed numbers' from noughties hit show, Lost.
Host of The LOST Boys podcast Jacob Stolworthy shared the comparison on X (formerly Twitter), writing: "Baby Reindeer: the 'random series of numbers like spam' used in the stalker's email address are, in fact, the cursed numbers from LOST."
Baby Reindeer: the 'random series of numbers like spam' used in the stalker's email address are, in fact, the cursed numbers from LOST pic.twitter.com/JksoAJwLJsApril 18, 2024
Throughout Lost, the series of numbers consistently flashes up in blink-and-you'll-miss-them moments. Fans of both shows were quick to comment, with one writing: "What a brilliant spot."
Another added: "Oh god we don’t need any more lore on Lost god save us."
Baby Reindeer is available to stream on Netflix.
