It’s no secret that Baby Reindeer has gone down a storm on Netflix, and its creator and star Richard Gadd is already working on his next project.
Richard’s new BBC drama will take him back to his home turf of Scotland, and dive into the many highs and lows of a friendship between two men throughout their lives.
Over the course of almost 40 years, beginning in the 1980s and continuing to the present day, the six episodes will unpack the early years of the pair’s relationship as teenagers to them falling out as adults, with all the good, bad and ugly moments in between.
Set and filmed in and around Glasgow, the show – currently titled Lions – also looks set to tackle similar topics of masculinity just as Baby Reindeer did, asking “what does it mean to be a man?”.
A BBC synopsis released earlier this year teased: “When Niall’s estranged ‘brother’ Ruben shows up at his wedding, it leads to an explosion of violence that catapults us back through their lives.
“This ambitious series will cover the highs and lows of the brothers’ relationship, from them meeting as teenagers to their falling out as adults – with all the good, bad, terrible, funny, angry, and challenging moments along the way. It 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?”
Creator and writer Richard also expressed his excitement about the project in a statement, sharing: “It is a dream come true to be part of such a historic broadcaster with a reputation for bringing the best comedy and drama (and comedy-drama for that matter) to our screens.
“A dream which will likely wear off when it comes to tight writing deadlines and rainy shooting days on the streets of Glasgow. Just joking. I have never been happier to work on anything in my life.”
The 45-minute long episodes will be directed by Alexandra Brodski, who previously worked on the 2022 Bafta-winning Channel 4 drama Somewhere Boy, about a teenage boy who is isolated from the world after his mother is involved in a fatal accident.
While there’s no official release date for Lions yet, it will be available to watch on BBC One, BBC Scotland and BBC iPlayer once it comes out.
Richard’s current streaming hit, Baby Reindeer, was based on the shocking true story of his years-long ordeal with a stalker, played in the series by Jessica Gunning.
It’s also an adaptation of Richard’s own one-man stage show, which debuted at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2019, before transferring to the West End and even winning an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement In Affiliate Theatre.
Since its release, members of the show have spoken out against people trying to find the identity of Richard’s real stalker.
“That’s not the point of our show,” Richard shared on Instagram, while Jessica conceded: “I would urge people not to be doing that.”
In other news, Baby Reindeer co-star Nava Mau recently reflected on one deleted scene that would have revealed more information about Teri and Donny’s relationship in the show.