Netflix Boss Ted Sarandos Says ‘Baby Reindeer’ Debate Is “Uniquely British”: “This Is Not Happening Anywhere Else In The World”

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos has described the Baby Reindeer debate as “uniquely British.”

The saga, which has seen Netflix sued for $170M by the ‘real-life Martha’ over her depiction in the Emmy-winning show, has seen a lawsuit filed in the U.S.

But Sarandos posited that the debate around the show is “not happening anywhere else in the world.”

Pushed on the “true story” element of the show, which has landed it in such hot water, Sarandos told RTS London that Baby Reindeer “is not a documentary, there are elements that are dramatized.”

“We are watching it performed by actors on TV, we think that’s abundantly clear that there is dramatization involved,” he added.

He was speaking as Netflix unveiled a first-look deal with creator Richard Gadd, who scooped an Emmy over the weekend for the smash hit, which has nonetheless been hugely controversial.

Reiterating previous comments, Sarandos called Baby Reindeer “Richard Gadd’s true story,” adding: “We are facilitating storytellers to tell their stories.”

Windows not important

During a wide-ranging RTS keynote, Sarandos dismissed windowing as something that “audiences do not care about at all” in the current landscape.

As he tried to position Netflix as being audience-first above all else, the head of the streamer, who is in the UK keynote-ing the RTS London, said that “the TV business was built on windowing” but “you do not hear [audiences] talk about it at dinner.”

Speaking to a the great-and-good of the UK TV industry, including numerous producers and broadcasters, Sarandos dismissed the likes of rights and distribution as “important, but what matters is how we serve the audience.”

“We have to put audiences first,” he added. “Think about it not as critics, not as media execs but from the perspective of a fan.”

Sarandos acknowledged “there is lots of anxiety and concern” in the sector at present, in areas such as “falling investment and AI,” but said he is “optimistic about the future” as he mulled that the entertainment business is going through another enormous, structural change.

Sarandos was addressing RTS London, with the likes of David Beckham, Steven Knight and Tim Davie speaking later.