Baby Reindeers’s Richard Gadd to return with HBO series

Richard Gadd, creator, writer, and star of the Netflix hit series Baby Reindeer, will return with his second show, Lions.

The show, which will consist of six 45-minute episodes, will be produced in collaboration with HBO and BBC.

Gadd’s sophomore opus follows the exciting and complex relationship between two friends, Niall and Ruben and takes watchers through their fluctuating story.

The season will span nearly four decades, from the 1980s, depicting the two characters’ childhood to the present day.

According to the press release, Ruben shows up at his estranged ‘brother’ Niall’s wedding, leading to “an explosion of violence that catapults us back through their lives.”

The logline reads the show “will capture the wild energy of a changing city—a changing world, even—and try to get to the bottom of the difficult question…What does it mean to be a man?”

Gadd will be the executive producer of the upcoming show alongside Tally Garner and Morven Reid for Mam Tor Productions, Gaynor Holmes for the BBC, and Gavin Smith for BBC Scotland.

Kara Buckley, SVP, HBO Drama Programming, said, “We are tremendously excited to partner with the BBC and Richard Gadd, whose remarkable talent continues to make waves across the globe. With this new, gripping and evocative series, we are proud to welcome Richard to the HBO family.”

Gadd’s debut series Baby Reindeer, released via Netflix, became an unpredicted hit for both Gadd and the streaming service. The seven-episode mini-series was based on the one-person play he debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Both the show and play were reportedly inspired by the actual life events that happened to Gadd, who played Donny, an aspiring comedian and bartender who was being harassed and stalked by a woman called Martha (Jessica Gunning).

The Netflix series has reportedly gained significant Emmy buzz, but not all watchers enthusiastically received it.

Fiona Harvey, a Scottish Lawyer who has identified herself as the woman Martha is based on, has sued Netflix for 170 million dollars (€158 million) for determination, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and violations of her right to publicity.

Gadd - who has asked the public not to find the real people who inspired the fictional characters, claiming that it takes away from the art - has maintained that the real-life version of Martha and the fictional versions are substantially different.