Baby Reindeer content warnings: How graphic and explicit is the Netflix series?

Baby Reindeer is an excellent series. It's moving, well-written, and anchored by two phenomenal performances by actors Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning.

It's a visceral and unflinching examination of sexual abuse and its aftermath and currently has a perfect score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. I highly recommend the series to everyone, but if you are sensitive to topics like sexual assault and grooming the series might not be the best choice. It could absolutely be triggering and too disturbing for some viewers.

The story hinges on a struggling comedian who develops a warped relationship with his female stalker, a woman named Martha. Baby Reindeer was created by and written by Richard Gadd, who based it on his real-life story. Gadd also stars in the series as the lead character Donny Dunn.

Below I've laid out what viewers should expect from the show in terms of content/trigger warnings. Baby Reindeer is rated TV-MA for language, nudity, sex, sexual violence, and substances, but you need more detail, keep reading. I tried to keep the spoilers to a minimum as much as possible.

Parents curious if this is an okay show to put on in the background while hanging out with their kids: I'd steer clear. Even if some of the content goes over their heads, this show is really not for children. I'd compare it to series like Fleabag on Prime Video and the brilliant I May Destroy You.

Nudity and sex scenes in Baby Reindeer

There isn't much explicit nudity in Baby Reindeer. You're not going to see full-frontal nudity, but there is still nudity in the series. Characters are shown having sex, in states of undress, in the shower, etc., but no genitalia is shown on-camera.

However, there are still graphic depictions of sexual violence and assault. Sex is also an important topic in the show as the main character, Donny, grapples with being a victim of serious trauma that impacts his dating and sex life. There are a few sex scenes, too, mostly just at the end of the fourth episode.

Baby Reindeer features heavy topics like grooming and sexual violence

Baby Reindeer is by no means a lighthearted series. While it does have some darkly comedic moments, it's still primarily a drama focusing on one man's trauma. The fourth episode is the heaviest, as it details what happened to Donny in the past, specifically when he was groomed, assaulted, and eventually, raped, by a man he was working for previously.

If any of those topics are triggering for you, you might want to skip the series altogether because sexual violence is a prevalent theme throughout. Donny's stalker, Martha, also harrasses and violates him on several occasions, at least once physically that's shown on camera but her emails, texts, and rants can also be triggering as they're frequently laden with homophobia, transphobia, and more.

Additional mature content in the series

Apart from the topics mentioned above, Baby Reindeer obviously has other mature elements like cursing (pretty much every curse word you could think of), drinking, drug usage, and violence. Martha becomes violent toward a few characters in the show, attacking one of Donny's love interests and later breaking a glass over his head. Drugs like PCP and acid are used like date rape drugs in the fourth episode.

Watch Baby Reindeer on Netflix.