The perverse and addictive appeal of Netflix’s You

In our risk-averse, deeply fearful age, the idea of one of the most popular shows on any streaming service being a black comedy about a serial killer who has an unfortunate penchant for murdering the women he falls in love with might be something of a tough sell. But the bloody exploits of Joe Goldberg, a bookstore worker-turned-university-professor, who has so far terrorised the denizens of New York, California and London, have run to four immensely popular seasons on Netflix, with a likely fifth and final instalment in the next year or two.

Not bad for a series that – intentionally or otherwise – treads a fine line between hilarity and horror, its essential ridiculousness jostling against its near-nightmarish central conceit. 

When the first season of You appeared in 2018, its mixture of playfulness and drama was almost intoxicating in its originality. Joe, the protagonist, as played by Gossip Girl alumnus Penn Badgley, was a good-looking, almost bashful presence, whose voiceover served to make viewers complicit in his murderous exploits.