Lifetime's "YOU" Takes Social Media Stalking to Eerie Extremes

The new Lifetime drama YOU based on Caroline Kepnes bestselling novel of the same name takes the concept of casual stalking to new heights when a bookstore manager meets a writer and uses social media to learn more about her amp160The series features a stellar cast Penn Badgley Elizabeth Lail Shay Mitchell and John Stamos and is cocreated and produced by Greg Berlanti Arrow The Flash Riverdale and many more and Sera Gamble Supernatural The MagiciansThe twisted love story of YOU follows Joe Goldberg Badgley a brilliant intellectual who has been surrounded by great literature his entire life amp160He has developed a keen sense of observational skills and is able to read people and break down their entire personalities which we hear through his narrationamp160 His assessments are based on nothing but whatamp8217s presented in front of him by individuals their demeanor their clothing and their gestures amp160After meeting amp160yoga instructoraspiring writer Guinevere Beck Lail who flirts with him plenty upon their first meeting his curious nature inclines him to find out more about herA simple Googling of Beckamp8217s unique name leads Joe on a search down the digital rabbit hole amp160amp8220Your online life isnamp8217t real itamp8217s a collageamp8221 he narrates as he goes through her photos amp160amp8220You pasted this Beck up this together loveable bendy little creatureamp8221 amp160Joe even manages to get her address and peers into her apartment from across the street amp160Heamp8217s struck by how easy it was because she for some reason had no curtains despite living in a streetlevel apartment amp160amp8220Jesus itamp8217s like youamp8217ve never seen a horror movie or the newsamp8221 Joe musesamp160 As a yoga instructor Beck posts her class schedule online so Joe finds her classes with ease and remains a spectator simply observing her learning more about her daytoday life and who she keeps company with including her touchyfeeling professor and her spoiled rich airhead friendsDuring a panel for the series at the 2018 Summer Television Critics Association tour showrunner Gamble made it clear that the headline of the series is amp8220privacy is goneamp8221amp160 She wasnamp8217t kiddingamp160 amp8220Itamp8217s really really hard not to have a social media footprintamp8221 she told the pressamp160 amp8220Even if youamp8217re not on social media you probably have friends who are amp160So protecting personal information is shockingly difficultamp8221 amp160This is made clear when Joe is able to track down Beckamp8217s address with littletono effort amp160amp8220It was really interesting to us from the beginning that Joe Goldberg is not amp8216Mr Robotamp8217amp8221 Gamble said amp160amp8220Heamp8217s not some kind of crazy techy genius amp160Heamp8217s just an intelligent guy who understands the way that people use the internet and he uses it in the way it was sort of intendedamp8221Joe is an interesting person because of his curiosity and while he may border on obsessive to most he is still a rather charming and likeable guy amp160His intrusiveness on Beckamp8217s social media isnamp8217t any worse than what most of us have done before when looking up people on Instagram and scrolling through their posts without liking anything or following them amp160We quickly learn just how far Joe is willing to go to find out more about his dream girl whom he comes to regard as a damsel in distress unhappy in a terrible relationship and decides heamp8217s the Prince Charming who will save herHeamp8217s an incredibly complex character because while his obsession takes a dark turn we seeamp160him share some tender moments with his nextdoor neighboramp8217s son Paco in whom he sees his younger self amp160Joe finds Paco reading on the steps outside their adjacent apartments while his mother is in a screaming match with her boyfriend amp160On multiple occasions throughout the premiere episode Joe is like the big brother Paco never had buying him milkshakes and taking him to his bookstore to get him new reading material and mentoring him in a wayDuring the TCA panel Badgley was asked how the storyline of the series and his character in particular will fare in the shadow of the MeToo movement amp160amp8220I am really interested to see how people respond to the showamp8221 he said amp160amp8220Itamp8217s a bit of a social experiment because itamp8217s like a litmus test to see the mental gymnastics weamp8217re still willing to perform at a cultural level to love an evil white man amp160I think that it will certainly add to the conversation and it will create its own conversationamp8221Gamble made clear that as the series progresses viewers will learn that there is much more to Beck than the damselindistress that Joe sees her as amp160amp8220We wanted to get deeper inside this character than weamp8217ve seen in a lot of TV showsamp8221 she revealedamp160 amp8220Interestingly the setup of having a stalker who is watching her enables us to get deeper and deeper into Beckamp8217s life and to dimensionalize her in ways that frankly often a character like this is not dimensionalizedamp160 By a couple of episodes into the show we start to shift into her point of view more and more amp160It was really important to us to start by seeing her as Joe sees her amp160But as time goes on we start to see her as she actually isamp8221Badgley and Lail both give fantastic performances as Joe and Beck respectively amp160The complexity behind the characters is fascinating Joe with his heart of gold and underlying creepy undertones and Beck trying to keep up appearances that her life is this bright funfilled world when sheamp8217s genuinely unhappyI have to commend the cinematography in the premiere episode by Lee Toland Krieger and David Lanzenberg who collaborate on episodes of The CWamp8217s Riverdale and Netflixamp8217s upcoming Chilling Adventures of Sabrina among many others amp160Their work adds another layer of complexity to the characters story and settingamp160 At times it feels like we39re actually seeing the world through Joe39s POV or experiencing how small Beck feels when she gives in to pressureLifetime seems to think it has an instant hit given the announcement at TCA that the network renewed YOU for a second season weeks before the first season even beganamp160 Season 2 will be based on Kepnesamp8217 followup novel Hidden BodiesYOU is telecast Sunday at 10 pm on LifetimeClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160amp160

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Lifetime's "YOU" Takes Social Media Stalking to Eerie Extremes

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Jon Miller | Cofounder Marketo, Engagio | The Gumball Machine is Broken - Rethinking B2B Marketing - By Mike Linton

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Lifetime's "YOU" Takes Social Media Stalking to Eerie Extremes

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