After a stinging lawsuit for 'Baby Reindeer', Netflix is touting a 'true-ish' crime show

• Netflix advertised a new show, "Apple Cider Vinegar," as a "true-ish story."
• The cautious framing comes after a high-profile lawsuit over the truth of its hit "Baby Reindeer."
• Audiences have been loving true crime shows, but they carry a legal risk that fiction doesn't.

Netflix is coyly advertising its next crime drama, "Apple Cider Vinegar" as "true-ish."

The unusual label comes after the streamer was embroiled in an uncomfortable lawsuit over its claim that "Baby Reindeer" was a true story.

Netflix didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider on the "Apple Cider Vinegar" ad.

"Baby Reindeer" depicted a stalker — and its success prompted its subject, Fiona Harvey, to file a lawsuit alleging the show defamed her.

Netflix tried to get the suit dismissed, but failed — and is due to defend its work in court at a trial next year.

Into that backdrop came the November 18 trailer for its next crime drama, "Apple Cider Vinegar." The series stars Kaitlyn Dever as Belle Gibson, a real-life Australian influencer who confessed to fabricating multiple cancer diagnoses.

In the first footage from the show, the title cards read, "A true-ish story based on a lie."

Netflix didn't say why it used that label. But the approach could give it more leeway should any "Reindeer"-style problems show up later.

The subject matter of the story is undeniably tricky territory.

Gibson presented herself as a brain cancer patient, claiming she was managing the condition with a natural diet and alternative medicine.

That was a peg for her business, an app and book called "The Whole Pantry", which traded on her personal story.

Years later she said she had lied — there was no cancer. She was prosecuted by Australian authorities and fined hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Netflix show is based on a 2017 book, "The Woman Who Fooled the World."

Netflix didn't give the show a release date, saying only that it's coming soon.