Netflix libel trial over “Baby Reindeer” set for 2025

The $170 million defamation lawsuit against Netflix Baby reindeer will go to court next year.

On Tuesday, a federal judge set May 6 as the start date for Fiona Harvey's major lawsuit against the streamer. The proceedings are expected to last about two weeks.

Netflix had no comment when contacted by Deadline today about the start of the trial for the Emmy-winning series created and starring Richard Gaad. However, the company, led by Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, reiterated its earlier statement that it will “vigorously defend this matter and support Richard Gadd's right to tell his story.”

The June 6 lawsuit filed by Gaad's real-life stalker Harvey, who served as partial inspiration for the creepy Martha Scott in the hit series, raised some eyebrows in the creative true crime community (read it here).

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That came just days after Harvey publicly stated on Piers Morgan's British talk show that Martha was based on her – an assumption that Gaad has somewhat debunked in statements in response to Harvey's lawsuit. “Martha Scott is not Fiona Harvey,” Gaad said in a July 28 statement supporting Netflix's attempt to dismiss the lawsuit. “Like all characters on the show, Martha is a fictional character with fictional personality traits that are very different from Harvey's.”

In his statement, Emmy-nominated Gaad avoids the “This is a true story” list that appears at the beginning Baby reindeer. Exaggerations aside, Harvey's defamation suit highlights the text with the “true story” as “the biggest lie in television history.”

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Still, the streamer's defense and efforts to dismiss the case rest in part on Harvey's claims being “insufficiently pled.” Netflix and its lawyers at Latham & Watkins further argued in a Sept. 4 motion that “given the context of the fictional series, including disclaimers and cinematic elements, this is hardly enough to sustain a claim against Netflix – much less one for defamation.”

Historic or not, with the global success of the black comedy, Harvey's lawsuit has garnered quite a bit of attention. Regardless, even with a trial date set for next year, it will be quite some time before anyone goes to trial in this case – if at all.

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For one thing, Judge R. Gary Klausner also referred the entire case to mandatory alternative dispute resolution, also known as mediation. “In accordance with Local Rule 1615, the parties must elect an ADR mediation procedure in all cases,” Klausner wrote on Sept. 10. “The final meeting with the parties' mediator must be held no later than 45 days before the final pretrial conference.”

Because the parties are being given until March 7 to reach an agreement rather than overloading already-burdened courts, the mediation process will run parallel to the usual lead-up to a trial, with summary judgment filings, discovery and more. To that end, Harvey and her NYC firm Roth Law Firm and LA-based attorney Allen Hyman filed a boatload of evidence and other documents under seal this week.

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The time of announcement of the hearing date comes Baby reindeer can look forward to a lot of awards at the 76th Primetime Emmys on Sunday.

After winning the awards for casting and editing at the Creative Arts Emmys over the weekend, Baby reindeer is in the running with the big boys next Sunday. The remaining nominations include Best Miniseries or Anthology Series and Lead Actor in a Miniseries and Screenwriter nominations for Gadd himself, as well as a Best Supporting Actor nomination for co-star Jessica Gunning.

The second 2024 Emmy Awards will air live on ABC on Sunday at 5 p.m. PT/8 a.m. ET – unless you're a non-subscription DirecTV subscriber.

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