While a blend of Hannibal and Dexter might sound too dark for mainstream audiences, Netflix’s five-part psychological thriller turned this risky set-up into a straight-up classic of the genre. If the success of True Detective season 1 proved anything, it was that mainstream viewers weren’t afraid of thrillers getting seriously dark and gritty. Some of TV’s most enduringly popular murder mystery shows, like Murder She Wrote, Diagnosis Murder, and the iconic whodunit Columbo, boasted a far lighter, more family-friendly tone.
However, by the 2010s, the advent of streaming and the Second Golden Age of Television had combined to create a viewing public who were much more open to gore, psychological depth, and stories that were uncompromising in their bleakness. Everything from the True Detective-influenced thriller Sharp Objects to the Kate Winslet vehicle Mare of Easttown took advantage of this genre shift in the years that followed, offering psychological thrillers that were as realistically grim as The Wire and The Shield while still boasting a reliable, familiar whodunit murder mystery plot.
Even within this milieu, however, asking viewers to follow the story of an unapologetic killer was a daring move. Dexter ameliorated the inherent brutality of its title character’s actions by having Micheal C. Hall’s titular serial killer mostly murder only other serial killers, while Hannibal centered on Hugh Dancy’s conflicted criminal profiler Will Graham as much as the eponymous cannibalistic killer. In contrast, Netflix’s risky novel adaptation You took a darker route with its five-season story.
Netflix’s You Combines Hannibal’s Cat and Mouse Plot With Dexter’s Serial Killer POV
Based on the bestselling book of the same name by author Caroline Kepnes, You was originally a Lifetime series, but the psychological thriller moved to Netflix after its debut season. Breaking with the tradition of even darker whodunit mysteries like His & Hers, You was told from the perspective of its villain, a kidnapper and serial killer named Joe Goldberg. Played with unctuous charisma by Gossip Girl’s Penn Badgley, Joe was a different breed of killer.
The obsessive murderer set his sights on a new love interest in every season of the series, only for viewers to soon learn that, for Joe, a “love interest” amounted to a new victim for his stalking, kidnapping, and eventual murder plots. Each time Joe killed, he would rationalize his misdeeds and swear that this time, his next relationship would be different, before the cycle of violence started anew in the show’s next outing.
You’s Riskiest Choice Changed Dexter’s Winning Formula
This might sound like a punishingly grim premise for a TV series, like Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer reimagined as a multi-season TV show. However, the secret ingredient that made the show work was its playful, self-aware sense of campy humor. While never quite as heightened in its satire as the Knives Out movies, You was still consistently silly enough for the show to never feel overly realistic.
Since Joe Goldberg doesn’t share Dexter’s “killer targeting killers” modus operandi and most of his victims were likable young women, this made it far harder for viewers to root for him. In another pivotal way, one could argue that You’s psychological thriller plot was even more impressive than Hannibal’s story since the series had no obvious hero to root for.
It’s no secret that many viewers cared more about Hannibal himself than Will Graham, but the earlier CBS show at least had an ostensible good cop to balance out its murderous serial killer protagonist. You straight up centered on a killer, and it is a credit to the Netflix show’s perfect tonal balance that this never felt exploitative or unwatchable-ly grim thanks to its winking sense of humor. Thus, You outdid both Dexter and Hannibal with a story that was darker, but somehow felt less brutal.
You
- Directors
- Marcos Siega, Lee Toland Krieger, Cherie Nowlan, DeMane Davis, Kellie Cyrus, Marta Cunningham, Martha Mitchell, Victoria Mahoney, Erin Feeley
- Writers
- Justin W. Lo
- Creator(s)
- Greg Berlanti, Sera Gamble
