The renowned horror author Stephen King has penned an essay on Baby Reindeer, the hit Netflix series. King wrote about the show in an article for The Times, praising the production for its stamina and for being one of the best things he has ever seen. The semi-autobiographical story follows a struggling comedian named Donny, who is relentlessly stalked by an older woman named Martha. King also commented that the show’s episodes, each about 30 minutes long, feel like short, swift stabs administered by a very sharp knife, unlike most streaming series that can feel bloated at 50 minutes or even longer.
In his essay, King drew comparisons between Baby Reindeer and his 1987 thriller novel, Misery, which was adapted into a movie in 1990 starring James Caan and Kathy Bates. Both stories share similar themes, such as abuse and obsession, but King acknowledged that his novel came first, stating that his first thought was to thank God his novel came first, or people would assume he had stolen it from Richard Gadd.
Meanwhile, TV presenter and author Richard Osman has claimed that “everyone” in the industry knows the identity of the real person behind Donny’s abuser in Baby Reindeer. King also discussed one of the show’s key takeaways, stating that the great gift of Baby Reindeer is that we come to understand why it has taken so long for Donny to report his abuse. In his heart, Donny believes he deserves it. We feel empathy for him rather than impatience, and we come to feel empathy for Martha as well.
Despite King’s disbelief that the publication paid him for writing about Baby Reindeer, the show has gained more than 22 million views in just three weeks, and King’s essay has brought much-deserved attention to the show
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