Donny Dunn is the main character in the Netflix limited series Baby Reindeer (2024). Donny is played by Richard Gadd and is a fictionalized version of himself.
The seven-hour-long episodes are based on a one-man show of the same name presented at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which then later played in the West End in London. Based on true events that happened to Gadd, we follow Donny, a bartender and aspiring standup comedian, as he is stalked by Martha Scott (Jessica Gunning), a woman who he pitied when she came into his pub crying. As the harassment gets worse, Donny is forced to face a long-buried trauma that is shaping how he is facing the dilemma.
Donny’s story is a dark one, requiring nearly every content and trigger warning imaginable. He’s a sympathetic yet flawed and self-hating protagonist, grappling with deep-seated trauma and internalized toxic masculinity, transphobia, biphobia, and the complexities of fame and attention.
In the first half of the series, we see Donny enjoying attention from and being attracted to women. Many of Martha’s initial comments boost his ego, and he begins dating Terri (Nava Mau), a trans therapist he meets on an online dating site. However, a flashback in Episode 4 reveals that Donny was groomed and sexually assaulted by his producer and mentor, a TV writer named Darrien O’Conner (Tom Goodman-Hill). This traumatic experience leads Donny to realize he is bi, but the way he arrives at this discovery triggers a psychological tailspin and sends him into a downward spiral.
Donny experiences significant self-loathing, self-discovery, and works through his preconceived notions of biphobia, transphobia, and other internal struggles. Eventually, he reaches a place of acceptance with his queerness and starts calling himself “bi”.
Though Baby Reindeer is a very, very hard watch, it is an important one in regards to male bisexuality in modern television.
