is now one of ‘s most popular shows of all time. Officially the 10th most-watched program in the streamer’s history, ‘s limited series sat in the top spot worldwide for a month before it was dethroned and accrued 56.5 million views within 26 days of its April 11 release.
“It’s been an enormous hit around the world,” Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos said. Audiences were gripped by the story of Donny, an amateur comedian , who, over the course of several years, is harassed, stalked and sent over 41,000 emails, 744 tweets, 100 pages of letters and 350 hours of voicemails by a woman he once pitied. In the program, Martha (played by ) shows up at his gigs, sexually assaults him and threatens his family as his life slowly derails.
He is also sexually abused by a top TV writer and grapples with prolonged drug use. By the end, Martha, who had already served a four-and-a-half-year jail term for a previous stalking conviction, is jailed for nine months. Gadd plays himself in the show, based on his hit play of the same name that debuted on London’s West End.
“This is a true story,” says a title card in the very first episode. Following the show’s wild popularity, it did not take long for viewers to uncover the “real-life Martha.” A Scottish woman, who also claimed to be a lawyer (just as it was portrayed in the show), was thrust into the spotlight.
had been found to have sent Gadd tweets, dating back years, about how she wanted him to “hang her curtains,” the very sa.