For those of us who were devastated to bid a teary goodbye to Gossip Girl, this new series, entitled You, might just be worthy of a Sunday night binge. Penn Badgley plays Joe, a charismatic, well-read, seemingly gentlemanly book store manager who just so happens to be harboring some dark tendencies. When Joe meets the blonde, blue-eyed budding writer, Guinevere Beck, browsing the fiction shelves, he is instantaneously transfixed. John Stamos as Dr. Nicky, Beck’s therapist, and Shay Mitchell as Beck’s best friend, also tag along for the unexpected ride. What transpires is part love story, part psychological thriller and wholly addictive.
Beck, as she comes to be fondly known, is played by the lovely Elizabeth Lail. Based on two novels by author, Catherine Kepnes, You is a dark and delicious story of desire told through the enchanting, if not disturbed, perspective of Joe. Our protagonist becomes maddeningly obsessed with the elusive and marvellously millennial Beck. Using all the real-world platforms and devices he has at his disposal, Joe feeds his obsession and masterfully inserts himself into Beck’s life.
As strange as it sounds, Badgley’s easy likability and brooding brown eyes present viewers with a moral question: Is it wrong to root for the bad guy? Joe’s ever-present voiceover reveals his motives and surprisingly sensitive insights. The character bares a resemblance to another lovable stalker-type who once graced the small screen, Dan Humphrey. Badgley himself was keenly aware of the similarity, sharing, “[Joe] ends up being a meta-progression of Dan Humphrey that makes me wildly uncomfortable, but also, right at home.” You is currently available on Netflix.