Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Netflix
One of the most surprising shows of the last few years is You, which ran one season on Lifetime before being snapped up by Netflix. Now in its fourth season, Netflix is splitting the batch of episodes into two halves, a release strategy it saves for its most popular shows like Stranger Things. But while Stranger Things is firmly entrenched in the world of big-budget, genre television, You is a different beast entirely.
You is trashy. That’s not an insult—in fact, I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what everybody involved is going for. It follows Joe (Penn Badgley), a truly psychotic serial killer, as he travels around America trying to avoid suspicion while racking up as many kills as possible. In the first three seasons, Joe killed a whopping 16 people, and nobody seems to raise an eyebrow, despite Penn Badgley channeling every evil thought directly into his character’s eyes.
But the fun of You has always been that it’s thoroughly ridiculous, and it wears its absurdity as a badge of honor. We keep watching because we can’t wait to see it careen off into nonsensical directions and shlocky plot twists. The writers clearly have a lot of fun being certifiably wild. Sure, if you took a step back and really thought about things, it wouldn’t really make any sense, but it’s a blast to watch something so self-aware. I don’t know if You has ever been good, but it sure is entertaining.