Richard Gadd and his "Reindeer" were recently honored with multiple Emmy Awards, winning six statues. This success likely solidified Netflix’s belief that investing in the show was worthwhile. Now, the director has signed a new deal, despite a $170 million lawsuit related to "Reindeer".
Netflix Wants More of Richard Gadd's Work Beyond "Reindeer"
According to Variety, during a conference in London on Tuesday, Netflix representatives announced that the company not only stands by Richard Gadd in the face of the multi-million dollar lawsuit but has also signed a new contract with the creator.
"We want to facilitate creators in sharing their stories" - said Ted Sarandos, one of Netflix's executives. "This was Richard's true story. We have just signed a new deal with him for another series on Netflix. We are proud of him and proud of how he told his story".
The $170 million lawsuit against Netflix and Richard Gadd comes from a woman named Fiona Harvey, who claims she sees herself in one of the characters in "Reindeer." Harvey alleges that the character Martha, portrayed by Jessica Gunning, who stalks the main protagonist, is actually based on her. Richard Gadd has been open about the fact that the storyline of "Reindeer" is based on his real-life experiences. "Everything that happens in the show is emotionally true for me. These are things that really happened to me, and the characters are based on people I’ve met in my life. However, it's not the absolute truth, both for artistic and legal reasons," Gadd said in interviews earlier this year while promoting the series.
Fiona Harvey’s name is, of course, not mentioned in "Reindeer," but after the show's premiere, some viewers closely examined Richard Gadd's life, scrutinizing his past relationships and the women he had interacted with. Fiona and her social media posts were uncovered on Twitter. She decided to defend her reputation in an interview with Piers Morgan and by filing a lawsuit against Netflix. "I’m not a stalker," she asserted, stating that she never sent thousands of emails or texts. However, dozens of her tweets from 2014, in which she repeatedly tagged Gadd, still exist.
