Culture Crash: How We Feel About “You” Season 3

The Netflix show “You” started off as a psychological thriller book adaptation that was airing on Lifetime. Its casting of Penn Badgley as a heartthrob serial killer was a clever trick, playing with the actor’s public persona after years of starring on the CW teen soap “Gossip Girl.” The first season was well-received, if not a ratings bonanza. When the show hit Netflix, it had a cultural moment but it still didn’t seem like there was a ton of room for the show to grow, so I was surprised when Netflix acquired the rights to keep the show running. Heading into season 2, I was sort of preparing myself for it to get repetitive. A new network just trying to get more juice out of a show that popped on their service… but that isn’t what happened.

Because it turns out, “You” is a show that is really good at undermining audience expectations. By changing settings and circumstances, season 2 was something totally different than season 1. When season 3 came along, it too gave audiences a new locale and a new set of obstacles. And last month, the show’s fourth season debuted in a new country and a new vibe, having reinvented itself as something closer to an Agatha Christie novel. It left audiences on a cliffhanger, and now the show is poised to return with the second half of its fourth season on March 9.

For a psychological thriller television show, unexpected twists and turns really are the name of the game. “You” is so good at providing the audience with the unexpected, and it does it largely by completely changing the characters setting and circumstances every season. Going into season 4, part two, I think I’m done trying to guess what comes next and I’m fully just along for the ride. Wherever they’re taking me next, I’m sure it’s somewhere I didn’t see coming.